The  WXY  of 
THESEWbMEN 


E.PHILLIPS  OPPtLNHEM 


,' 


THE  WAY  OF  THESE  WOMEN 


He  sprang  past  her  to  the  middle  of  the  room.      FRONTISPIECE. 
See  Page  356. 


THE  WAY  OF 
THESE  WOMEN 


BY 

E.  PHILLIPS  OPPENHEIM 

AUTHOR  OF  "THE  DOUBLE  TRAITOE,"  "MR.  GREX  OF  MONTE 
CARLO,"  ETC. 


WITH   ILLUSTRATIONS   BY 

C.  H.   TAFFS 


BOSTON 
LITTLE,  BROWN,  AND  COMPANY 

1915 


Copyright,  1913,  1915, 
BY  LITTLE,  BROWN,  AND  COMPANY 


All  rights  reserved 


Published,  September,  1916 


THE  COLONIAL    PRESS 
C.    H.    SIMON  1)S    CO.,    BOSTON,    U.  S.  A. 


SRLF 
URL 

513S36: 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

He  sprang  past  her  to  the  middle  of  the  room 

frontispiece 

His  companion  was  looking  at  him  stead- 
fastly     .        .        .        .        .        .         PAGE    23 

"My  God!"  he  exclaimed.     "What's  hap- 
pened here  ?  " 92 

"  Can't  you  see  that  I  have  come  a  suppliant? 

I  want  my  husband "      .  322 


THE  WAY  OF  THESE  WOMEN 


CHAPTER  I 

There  were  only  three  passengers  who  alighted  at 
Wickombe  Annerley  station  from  the  five-thirty  train. 
Two  of  them  were,  however,  in  their  way,  people  of  con- 
sequence. From  the  first-class  smoking  carriage  next 
the  engine  stepped  Henry  Aynesworth,  Marquis  of 
Lakenham,  six  foot  two  and  a  half,  broad  and  burly, 
with  features  stained  by  the  suns  of  tropical  countries 
and  coarsened  by  a  career  of  excesses  so  regettably 
flagrant  that,  notwithstanding  the  remains  of  his  for- 
tune and  his  ancient  name,  he  was  heard  of  more  often 
in  the  circles  of  Bohemia  than  in  the  great  world  to 
which  by  birth  he  belonged.  He  wore  a  light  flannel 
suit,  and  a  straw  hat  adorned  with  the  colors  of  a  noted 
cricket  club.  He  was  smoking  a  large  cigar,  and  he 
stood  by  while  his  servant  collected  his  belongings, 
watching  the  proceedings  with  an  air  of  prosperous 
arrogance  wholly  and  objectionably  British.  He  was 
forty-two  years  of  age  and  he  looked  older.  He  had 
a  ruddy  brown  complexion,  a  stiff,  fair  mustache  and 
a  heavy  jaw.  His  eyes  were  a  little  watery  but  his 
carriage  still  retained  traces  of  his  soldier  training. 
His  voice  was  always  raised  a  note  or  two  louder  than 
was  actually  necessary. 


2          THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

"  Anything  here  from  Annerley  Court?  "  he  asked 
the  station-master. 

A  long-coated  footman  who  was  on  his  way  to  the 
other  end  of  the  platform  paused  and  touched  his 
hat. 

"  The  motor  is  here,  my  lord,"  he  said.  "  Sir 
Jermyn  did  not  expect  you,  I  think,  until  the  later 
train.  We  had  orders  to  meet  the  half -past  seven." 

"  Changed  my  mind  at  the  last  moment,"  Lord 
Lakenham  declared.  "  Fact  is,  it  was  so  hot  in  town 
I  was  glad  to  get  away.  Have  you  come  to  meet 
any  one  else  ?  " 

"  A  young  lady,  sir,"  the  footman  replied,  edging  off. 

"  Well,  there'll  be  room  for  me,  I  dare  say,"  the 
Marquis  remarked.  "  What's  Sir  Jermyn  doing  to- 
day? Cricket,  eh?" 

"  Sir  Jermyn  is  playing  against  Yorkshire,  my  lord. 
The  match  should  be  over  in  good  time." 

The  Marquis  nodded  and  strolled  towards  the  exit. 
The  footman  hurried  to  the  other  end  of  the  platform, 
where  two  young  ladies  were  standing  in  front  of  a 
small  pile  of  luggage,  from  which  a  maid  was  collect- 
ing their  belongings.  The  younger  one  was  only  a 
child,  with  fair,  freckled  face,  rather  a  large  mouth, 
and  a  very  earnest  expression.  Her  elder  sister  — 
there  was  no  mistaking  their  relationship  —  was  ex- 
ceedingly dainty  and  charming.  Her  eyes  were  a  trifle 
dark  for  her  complexion,  her  hair  fair  and  wavy,  her 
complexion  pale  but  flawless.  She  was  dressed  in  the 
smartest  of  white  linen  traveling  gowns,  with  white 
silk  stockings  and  black  shoes.  Her  voice  when  she 
addressed  the  footman,  to  whom  her  sister  had  called 
her  attention,  was  singularly  soft. 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN         3 

"  Are    you    from    Annerley    Court  ? "    she    inquired. 

The  footman  touched  his  hat. 

"  Yes,  miss,"  he  answered.  "  Sir  Jermyn  desired  me 
to  present  his  compliments  and  to  say  that  he  was 
exceedingly  sorry  he  was  not  able  to  come  to  the  sta- 
tion. He  said  that  he  would  explain  immediately  upon 
your  arrival.  He  hopes  to  be  at  the  Court  as  soon  as 
we  are.  There  is  a  cart  waiting  for  the  luggage  and 
for  your  maid,  and  a  motor  for  you  and  the  gentleman, 
miss." 

For  the  first  time  she  glanced  down  the  platform 
and  noticed  the  disappearing  form  of  her  fellow  pas- 
senger. 

"  There  is  some  one  else  going  to  Annerley  Court, 
then?  " 

The  footman,  who  was  assisting  with  the  baggage, 
turned  around  for  a  moment. 

"  Yes,  miss,"  he  replied.  "  Lord  Lakenham  has  ar- 
rived by  the  same  train." 

The  footman  was  now  entirely  intent  upon  super- 
intending the  removal  of  the  luggage,  and  incidentally 
ingratiating  himself  with  the  young  lady's  maid,  of 
whose  appearance  he  approved.  The  station-master 
had  escorted  his  distinguished  arrival  to  the  motor- 
car, the  solitary  porter  was  busy  hoisting  luggage  to 
the  top  of  the  luggage  cart,  and  the  child  had  wandered 
off  to  admire  the  roses  in  the  station-master's  garden. 
It  was  a  little  country  station  on  a  branch  line,  with 
a  row  of  white  palings,  a  single  seat,  a  tiny  shed,  and 
on  the  other  side  of  the  single  line  of  metals,  a  thick 
wood.  There  was  no  one  there  to  witness  what,  in  its 
way,  was  almost  a  tragedy.  The  girl,  whom  an  en- 
tire press  and  a  not  ungenerous  profession  had  done 


4          THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

their  best  to  spoil,  had  forgotten  to  act.  She  stood 
quite  still,  gazing  at  the  faint  line  of  smoke  which 
marked  the  track  of  the  departing  train  as  though 
it  were  carrying  away  her  last  hope.  All  the  soft, 
delicate  girlishness  of  her  features  seemed  to  have 
vanished.  Her  mouth  was  set,  her  eyes  distended  with 
fear.  There  was  no  one  of  her  admirers  who  would 
have  recognized  her  at  that  moment.  All  the  little 
color  which  she  possessed  seemed  to  have  been  drawn 
from  her  face,  all  the  life  and  lissome  grace  to  have 
passed  from  her  limbs.  As  the  departing  train  van- 
ished around  the  distant  curve,  she  gazed  about  her 
wildly,  as  though  seeking  for  some  way  of  escape. 
She  shrank  as  though  instinctively  away  from  the  little 
shed  outside  which  the  motor-car  was  waiting. 

"  The  luggage  is  quite  all  right,  madame,"  the  foot- 
man announced,  turning  round.  "  If  you  and  the 
young  lady  will  be  so  good  as  to  follow  me?  " 

The  child,  who  had  clambered  up  the  white  palings, 
sprang  lightly  down. 

"Aren't  you  glad  it's  a  car,  Sybil?"  she  exclaimed. 
"  It  will  be  just  lovely  riding  in  the  open  air  after  that 
stuffy  train.  Come  along." 

The  young  lady  to  whom  she  appealed  nerved  her- 
self for  an  effort.  She  let  fall  her  traveling  veil  of 
white  gauze  and  with  her  hand  in  her  sister's  followed 
the  footman  down  the  platform,  through  the  wooden 
shed  and  out  into  the  little  circular  space  where  a  very 
handsome  motor-car  was  waiting  for  them.  Lord 
Lakenham,  who  was  standing  by  its  side,  raised  his 
hat.  He  was  in  one  of  his  very  best  moods,  for  he 
threw  away  his  cigar.  . 

"  We  are  to  be  feUow  passengers  to  Annerley  Court, 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN          5 

I  hear,"  he  said.  "  May  I  introduce  myself?  My 
name  is  Lakenham.  Will  you  allow  me?  " 

She  stepped  into  the  car  with  a  slight  inclination  of 
the  head.  For  a  moment  or  two  Lord  Lakenham 
seemed  to  forget  his  manners.  The  child  passed  by 
him  unaided.  He  stood  as  though  turned  to  stone, 
staring  at  the  half-concealed  countenance  of  the  young 
lady,  who  was  already  ensconced  in  a  corner  of  the 
car. 

"  Are  you  not  coming?  "  she  asked  calmly.  "  There 
is  plenty  of  room." 

Lord  Lakenham  recovered  himself  with  a  little  ef- 
fort. 

"  Of  course  I  am,"  he  answered.  "I  —  well,  I  for- 
got where  I  was  for  a  moment.  Now  we're  all  right." 

He  took  the  seat  opposite  the  two  girls  and  the  car 
glided  off.  His  eyes  still  seemed  to  be  seeking  to 
penetrate  that  closely  drawn  veil. 

"  Delicious,  this  is,  after  the  train,  isn't  it?  "  he  re- 
marked. "  May  I  not  have  the  privilege  of  knowing 
your  name?  We  are  to  be  fellow-guests  at  Annerley, 
I  believe,  so  I  shall  only  be  anticipating  a  few  minutes." 

"  My  name  is  Cluley,"  she  told  him,  "  and  this  is  my 
little  sister  —  Mary  Cluley.  We  are  only  making  a 
very  brief  visit  to  Annerley." 

"  Cluley,"  he  repeated,  thoughtfully.  "  Seems  a  fa- 
miliar name  to  me,  somehow.  I  wonder  why?  .  .  . 
Ah!  of  course,  there's  Sybil  Cluley,  the  girl  at  th« 
Imperial  Theatre,  who  seems  to  have  turned  the  heads 
of  half  the  men  in  London." 

"  My  name  is  Sybil  Cluley,"  she  said  quietly. 

Lord  Lakenham  slapped  his  knee  and  chuckled. 

"  By  Jove,  then,  that  accounts  for  it !  "  he  exclaimed. 


6          THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

"  I  knew  I'd  seen  you  before.  Came  over  me  for  a 
certainty  directly  you  got  into  the  motor,  only  I 
couldn't  imagine  where.  You  were  mixed  up  with 
something  in  my  mind  and  I  couldn't  work  it  out.  I 
am  delighted  to  know  you,  Miss  Cluley.  Had  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  you  act,  of  course." 

The  girl  inclined  her  head.  Her  sister  leaned  for- 
ward from  her  seat. 

"  Nearly  every  one,  wherever  we  go,  knows  Sybil 
by  sight,"  she  told  Lord  Lakenham  confidentially. 
"  It's  so  funny  sometimes  when  we  are  out  in  the  streets 
together.  People  stop  and  turn  round,  and  in  the 
shops  I  can  often  hear  them  whispering  and  telling 
one  another  who  Sybil  is.  Have  you  seen  *  The 
Tangled  Web'?" 

"  Several  times,"  Lord  Lakenham  assured  her. 
"  Parts  of  it  are  a  trifle  too  clever  for  me  but  it's  a 
jolly  good  show,  all  the  same.  Your  sister's  the  mak- 
ing of  it,  to  my  mind." 

"  Sybil  is  ripping !  "  Mary  declared.  "  Everybody 
says  so.  It's  quite  her  best  part.  The  manager  told 
me  himself  the  other  day  that  he  didn't  think  there  was 
any  one  else  in  London  who  could  have  created  it  as 
she  has  done." 

Lord  Lakenham  smiled  tolerantly. 

"  I  should  imagine  he  was  quite  right,"  he  agreed. 
"  I  expect  you're  keen  to  grow  up  and  go  on  the  stage 
yourself,  eh?  " 

The  child  looked  across  at  her  sister  doubtfully. 
Sybil  Cluley  was  lying  back  in  her  corner  seat  with 
half-closed  eyes,  as  though  anxious  to  escape  as  much 
as  possible  from  the  conversation.  She  opened  them 
now,  however,  wide  enough. 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN         7 

"  Mary  will  never  go  upon  the  stage,"  she  said 
firmly.  "  I  have  made  other  plans  for  her." 

The  child  laughed  gayly  enough,  yet  with  a  note  of 
regret. 

"  Sybil's  saving  all  her  money,"  she  explained  to  her 
companion,  "  so  that  soon  after  I  leave  school  we  can 
travel  together  for  a  time  and  then  live  somewhere 
down  in  the  country.  I  don't  believe  she's  a  bit  fond 
of  acting,  really.  Isn't  it  stupid !  " 

Lord  Lakenham  stroked  his  stubbly  moustache  and 
gazed  a  little  curiously  at  the  eager-faced  child  who 
sat  opposite  to  him. 

"  I  have  heard  a  good  many  young  ladies  of  your 
sister's  age  talk  like  that,"  he  declared,  "  especially 
after  the  first  excitement  of  their  success  has  worn  off. 
It  doesn't  last,  though.  There's  no  profession  in  the 
world,  they  say,  like  the  stage  for  holding  one." 

Mary  seemed  doubtful. 

"  Sybil  doesn't  often  change  her  mind,"  she  told  him. 
"  In  fact  she's  what  I  should  call  stubborn  about  most 
things." 

"  Nice  character  your  young  sister's  giving  you," 
Lord  Lakenham  said,  turning  to  his  elder  companion 
with  a  smile. 

Sybil  shrugged  her  shoulders  slightly.  She  seemed 
curiously  anxious  to  remain  in  the  background. 

61  Mary  doesn't  know  everything,"  she  murmured, 
"  nor  does  she  always  mean  exactly  what  she  says." 

"  The  natural  proclivity  of  her  sex  asserting  itself 
in  youth ! "  Lord  Lakenham  remarked,  didactically. 
"What?" 

Sybil  only  smiled  very  faintly  and  looked  away 
with  the  air  of  one  whom  the  conversation  had  ceased 


8          THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

to  interest.  The  car  had  climbed  a  hill  and  was  rush- 
ing down  now  into  the  valley.  Mary  was  leaning  back 
in  her  seat  with  a  keen  air  of  enjoyment. 

"  Isn't  it  lovely  to  be  in  the  country  again ! "  she 
cried.  "  Look  at  those  glorious  woods,  Sybil !  Are 
we  anywhere  near  Sir  Jermyn's  house,  Lord  Laken- 
ham?" 

"  We  shall  turn  in  at  the  gates  in  a  few  moments," 
the  Marquis  replied.  "  You  can  see  them  straight 
ahead  there.  Nice  little  place  of  its  sort,  Annerley 
Court.  Have  you  ever  been  down  before,  Miss 
Cluley  ?  "  he  added,  turning  to  the  girl  by  his  side. 

She  shook  her  head. 

"  Never,"  she  answered.  "  Sir  Jermyn  has  asked  me 
once  or  twice  but  I  have  not  been  able  to  leave  the 
theatre.  Now  I  have  a  short  vacation  and  we  are  go- 
ing to  read  his  new  play  together.  Mine  is  really  a 
business  visit,  you  see." 

Lord  Lakenham  nodded  with  a  sudden  understand- 
ing. The  coming  of  Miss  Sybil  Cluley  to  Annerley 
Court  had  been  puzzling  him  immensely. 

"  Why,  of  course !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  I  read  in  one 
of  the  papers  only  this  morning  that  Jermyn  had  a 
new  play  almost  finished,  and  that  you  were  to  take  the 
leading  part.  Clever  chap,  Jermyn,  in  his  way.  Have 
you  known  him  long,  Miss  Cluley?  " 

"  I  have  known  Sir  Jermyn  for  about  a  year,"  she 
answered  quietly.  "  He  is  certainly  very  clever,  in- 
deed. I  have  played  in  a  short  sketch  he  wrote  some 
time  ago,  at  the  Hay  market." 

"  I  remember  it  quite  well,"  Lord  Lakenham  de- 
clared. "  Dismal  sort  of  affair  it  was,  too !  I  can't 
make  out  why  Jermyn  never  ends  up  anything  he 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN          9 

writes,  happily.  It  may  be  artistic,  and  all  that,  but 
I'm  hanged  if  I  like  it !  " 

She  raised  her  eyebrows  very  slightly. 

"  Do  you  believe,  then,"  she  asked,  "  that  everything 
in  life  should  end  happily?  " 

"  I  am  afraid  I  am  one  of  those  obvious  sort  of  per- 
sons who  want  it  to  in  the  books  I  read  and  the  plays 
I  go  to  see,"  he  admitted.  "  What  do  you  say,  Miss 
Mary?  Don't  you  want  the  fairy  prince  to  marry  the 
right  girl,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing,  at  the  end  of  the 
story,  eh?  " 

"  Of  course  I  do,"  the  child  answered,  confidently. 
"  So  does  every  one." 

"  Not  always,"  Lord  Lakenham  objected.  "  Our 
host  doesn't,  for  one." 

"  Sir  Jermyn  is  an  artist,"  Sybil  murmured. 

"  Daresay  he  is,"  Lord  Lakenham  assented.  "  All 
the  same,  I'd  like  to  see  him  a  little  more  cheerful 
sometimes.  I  don't  see  the  use  of  writing  about  prob- 
lems that  never  solve  themselves,  or  marriages  that  al- 
ways go  wrong,  or  lovers  who  never  come  together. 
Waste  of  time,  I  call  it.  Sort  of  cousin  of  mine, 
Jermyn,  you  know,  Miss  Cluley." 

She  accepted  the  information  without  any  great  sign 
of  interest.  They  had  turned  off  the  main  road  now, 
through  some  plain  iron  gates,  and  were  crossing  a 
park  dotted  here  and  there  with  dwarfed  oak  trees. 
Mary  clapped  her  hands. 

"  Deer !  "  she  cried,  with  enthusiasm.  "  Do  you  see, 
Sybil,  there  are  actually  deer!  I  wonder  if  they  are 
very  wild  ?  " 

"  Not  a  bit  of  it,"  Lord  Lakenham  assured  her. 
"  They'd  be  all  right,  anyhow,  at  this  time  of  the  year. 


10        THE   WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

Eat  biscuits  out  of  your  hand,  I  daresay.  We'll  try 
them  to-morrow.  I  haven't  been  here  for  ages,"  he 
went  on,  looking  around  him.  "  Ripping  little  golf 
course  one  could  make  here.  Do  you  play  golf,  Miss 
Cluley?" 

She  shook  her  head. 

"  I  haven't  time  for  that  sort  of  thing,"  she  told  him. 
"  Mary  plays  games  for  us  both.  I  am  quite  con- 
tented if  I  can  get  an  hour's  walk  every  morning." 

Some  note  in  her  tone  —  or  was  it  the  curve  of  her 
head  as  she  leaned  sideways  to  look  up  into  the  woods? 
—  stirred  in  him  once  more  that  curious  sense  of  a 
half-awakened  memory.  It  was  more  than  curiosity 
which  he  felt  —  it  was  an  interest  which  had  almost  an 
emotional  side. 

"  It's  a  rum  thing ! "  he  exclaimed,  meditatively,  with 
his  eyes  fixed  upon  her.  "  Every  now  and  then,  Miss 
Cluley,  I  get  a  sort  of  an  idea  that  I've  seen  you  be- 
fore, not  on  the  stage  at  all." 

She  did  not  answer  him  for  a  moment.  Unseen,  her 
right  hand  was  gripping  the  leather  strap  by  her  side. 
She  kept  her  eyes  fixed  upon  the  house,  which  had  just 
come  into  sight.  If  only  she  could  control  her  voice ! 
If  only  she  could  check  his  efforts  at  recollection ! 

"  I  think  it  most  unlikely,  Lord  Lakenham,"  she 
said  coldly.  "  I  go  out  very  little  and  I  have  few 
friends." 

"  And  I  am  quite  sure  that  we  never  knew  anybody 
who  was  a  marquis  before,  did  we  ?  "  Mary  chimed 
in,  with  a  triumphant  sense  of  administering  a  coup  de 
grace  to  the  subject.  "  Is  this  really  the  house?  Oh, 
Sybil,  isn't  it  lovely  !  " 

"  Beautiful,  dear,"  Sybil  assented. 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN       n 

Lord  Lakenham  eyed  the  structure  disparagingly. 

"  Not  much  of  a  place,"  he  said.  "  I  don't  care 
about  these  plain  Georgian  mansions.  Never  seen 
Lakenham,  by  the  bye,  have  you,  Miss  Cluley?  " 

She  shook  her  head. 

"  I  do  not  even  know  where  it  is." 

He  laughed  boisterously. 

"  That's  a  nasty  one  for  me,"  he  declared.  "  Rather 
a  show  place,  you  know,  Miss  Cluley.  Never  mind,  I 
hope  you'll  see  it  some  day.  There's  old  Jermyn  got 
here  first,  after  all.  I  wonder  who  the  dickens  he's 
got  to  play  hostess  ?  I'm  hanged  if  I  don't  believe  — 
why,  it's  Lucille !  " 


CHAPTER  II 

Jermyn  Annerley  was,  in  the  parlance  of  the  gossip- 
ing journalists  of  the  day,  a  very  interesting  figure  in 
Society.  He  was  tall,  and  he  had  the  good  looks  which 
go  with  clean-cut  features  a  little  on  the  large  side, 
a  very  sensitive  mouth,  and  deep-set,  keen,  but  rather 
introspective  gray  eyes.  He  had  done  exceedingly  well 
at  college  but  had  distinguished  himself  chiefly  in 
athletics.  Nothing,  the  sporting  critics  declared,  but  a 
certain  lack  of  enthusiasm  had  prevented  him  from  be- 
coming one  of  the  most  brilliant  amateur  batsmen  of 
the  day.  He  had  actually,  however,  had  the  astound- 
ing strength  of  will  to  give  up  cricket  altogether  for 
two  years  which  he  spent  in  traveling,  and  a  curious 
inclination  to  regard  the  game  as  a  recreation  rather 
than  as  an  all-engrossing  pursuit  had  more  than  once 
mystified  the  little  body  of  gentlemen  who  from  the 
neighborhood  of  St.  John's  Wood  controlled  the  cricket 
destinies  of  their  country.  He  had  never  entered  a 
profession,  and  although  he  had  gone  out  to  South 
Africa  as  a  matter  of  course,  the  army  as  a  career  pre- 
sented no  attractions  to  him.  He  had  written  a  novel 
which  was  too  clever  to  be  successful,  a  few  articles  in 
the  reviews  which  had  attracted  a  great  deal  of  at- 
tention, and  the  most  popular  Society  comedy  of  the 
day.  He  was  known  to  be  rich;  he  was  unmarried, 
charming  to  all  women  but  obviously  unimpressionable. 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN        13 

The  worst  thing  that  had  been  said  about  him  was  that 
he  was  a  prig. 

He  stood  now  at  the  open  door,  waiting  to  receive 
his  guests,  composed  and  yet  a  little  eager  as  his  eyes 
followed  the  approach  of  the  car.  The  woman  who 
stood  by  his  side  watched  him  curiously  from  under- 
neath the  lace  of  the  parasol  which  she  held  over  her 
head.  From  the  first  she  had  been  suspicious  of  the 
coming  of  this  girl. 

"  Who  is  Lucille  ?  "  Sybil  Cluley  asked,  as  the  auto- 
mobile glided  around  the  last  bend  of  the  avenue. 

"  Duchesse  de  Sayers,"  Lord  Lakenham  replied. 
"  She  is  a  sort  of  cousin  of  ours  —  was  an  Aynesworth, 
you  know.  She  married  a  Frenchman  who  turned  out 
a  regular  rotter,  and  divorced  him.  She  hates  her 
name  and  hates  her  title,  so  nearly  every  one  calls  her 
Lucille.  Great  pal  of  Jermyn's." 

The  car  drew  up  in  front  of  the  house.  Jermyn 
held  out  both  his  hands  to  Sybil  as  he  assisted  her  to 
alight. 

"  This  is  delightful !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  I  shall  never 
be  able  to  make  sufficient  apologies  for  not  having  been 
at  the  station  to  receive  you,  but  if  there  is  a  greater 
autocrat  in  this  world  than  your  enemy  the  call-boy, 
it  is  the  captain  of  a  county  cricket  team.  Mary, 
you've  grown  since  last  week,  but  you've  got  to  kiss  me 
all  the  same  because  I'm  your  host.  Glad  to  see  you, 
Lakenham.  We  didn't  expect  you  till  the  later  train. 
Miss  Cluley,"  he  went  on,  "  I  want  to  present  you  to 
my  far-away  cousin,  who  is  good  enough  to  be  hostess 
for  me  sometimes  —  the  Duchesse  de  Sayers." 

"  I  am  very  glad  to  welcome  you  to  Annerley," 
Lucille  said  slowly,  as  she  held  out  her  hand.  "  I  have 


14        THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

been  anxious  to  meet  you  ever  since  I  saw  your  wonder- 
ful performance  in  Jermyn's  play." 

"  Miss  Cluley  and  I  are  much  too  modest  for  that 
sort  of  thing,"  Jermyn  laughed.  "  There  is  some  tea 
on  the  other  side  of  the  house,  in  the  gardens.  I  hope 
that  you  want  yours,  Mary,  as  badly  as  I  do.  Come 
along." 

There  was  some  further  interchange  of  conventional 
speeches  and  they  all  moved  slowly  together  into  the 
great  hall.  Jermyn  led  the  way  across  the  white  stone 
flags,  smooth  with  age  and  shining  like  marble,  past 
the  broad  staircase,  to  where  at  the  end  of  a  corridor, 
through  an  open  door,  was  a  vista  of  terraced  gar- 
dens, cool  and  brilliant. 

"  I  do  hope  that  you  will  like  it  here,"  he  whispered 
in  Sybil's  ear.  "  I  have  been  looking  forward  so  much 
to  your  visit." 

She  raised  her  eyes  to  his  and  he  was  suddenly  struck 
with  the  new  thing  which  he  saw  there.  It  was  the 
look  of  a  frightened  animal,  the  weak  craving  protec- 
tion from  the  strong. 

"  It  will  be  lovely,"  she  answered.  "  I  am  sure  tliat 
it  will  be  lovely." 

"  You  have  felt  the  heat,  I  am  afraid?  It  must 
have  been  a  terribly  trying  journey." 

She  shook  her  head. 

"  It  was  nothing,"  she  replied.  "  I  had  a  good  many 
things  to  see  to  before  I  could  get  away,  and  traveling 
generally  gives  me  a  headache.  Directly  I  sit  down 
in  your  garden  it  will  have  passed." 

"  My  garden,"  he  smiled,  "  shall  be  like  the  garden 
of  the  Eastern  sage.  When  you  open  the  gate  and 
step  inside,  all  manner  of  evil  things  shall  pass  away." 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN        15 

The  corridor  was  hung  with  portraits.  Right  over 
the  door  through  which  they  were  to  pass,  the  face  of 
a  man  in  scarlet  uniform  frowned  down  upon  them. 

"  Who  is  that  ?  "  she  asked,  a  little  sharply. 

He  glanced  up  carelessly. 

"  A  great-uncle  —  the  third  Marquis  of  Lakenham  — 
Lakenham's  grandfather,  by  the  bye." 

She  shivered  distinctly.  Once  more  he  caught  the 
look  in  her  eyes  which  had  puzzled  him. 

"  I  am  afraid,"  he  remarked,  smiling,  "  that  you 
don't  like  the  look  of  my  ancestors !  " 

She  glanced  cautiously  around.  The  others  had 
paused  for  a  moment  while  Mary  made  friends  with 
some  dogs. 

"  I  do  not  like  Lord  Lakenham,"  she  whispered. 
"  No,  don't  look  so  horrified,  please.  Of  course  he 
hasn't  been  rude  to  me,  or  anything  of  that  sort,  but 
I  heard  of  him  once  —  I  didn't  like  what  I  heard.  He 
—  somehow  he  frightens  me." 

Jermyn  looked  genuinely  distressed. 

"  My  dear  Sybil,"  he  exclaimed,  "  I  am  so  sorry !  It 
is  quite  a  fluke  his  being  here.  I  had  no  idea,  even, 
that  he  was  coming  until  yesterday.  He  is  on  his  way 
to  Scotland.  To-morrow  I  will  give  him  a  hint." 

She  shook  her  head. 

"  You  mustn't,"  she  begged.  "  He  would  guess  at 
once.  Don't  say  anything.  This  is  really  quite  fool- 
ish, you  know,  and  I  am  very,  very  sorry,"  she  added, 
a  little  wistfully. 

He  drew  her  arm  through  his. 

"  Come,"  he  insisted,  "  let  us  forget  it.  I  am  long- 
ing to  show  you  my  gardens.  Those  cedar  trees  are 
over  five  hundred  years  old.  The  critics,  you  among 


16        THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

them  sometimes,  tell  me  often  that  I  am  too  imagina- 
tive. Tell  me,  if  you  had  been  brought  up  in  their 
shadow,  in  these  gardens,  wouldn't  you,  too,  open  your 
heart  to  fancies?  " 

They  had  passed  now  through  the  doorway  and  she 
looked  around  her  in  mingled  amazement  and  delight. 
This  was  really  the  front  of  the  house,  surrounded  by 
a  long,  stone-flagged  walk,  bordered  on  the  garden 
side  by  a  low  stone  terrace.  Before  them  were  steps 
leading  on  to  the  lawn,  and  below,  shelving  gardens, 
brilliant  with  color,  dropped  to  the  lake;  and  beyond 
the  lake,  the  woods.  The  lawn  upon  which  they  stood 
was  as  smooth  as  velvet,  green  with  the  eternal  green 
of  age.  Beneath  the  cedar  trees  were  many  cushioned 
chairs  and  a  glittering  tea  equipage;  upon  another 
table,  jugs  of  cool  drinks  and  bowls  of  fruit. 

"  It  is  wonderful,"  she  murmured.  "  It  is  a  little 
Paradise,  this,  in  which  you  live." 

For  one  marvelous  moment  she  forgot.  The  change 
from  her  little  flat  in  Kensington,  which  she  had 
scarcely  left  through  many  months  of  unceasing  work 
and  anxiety,  was  too  complete.  It  was  indeed  like 
fairyland  to  her.  Then  Lakenham's  voice  behind  — 
a  loud,  strident  voice  —  struck  fear  once  more  into  her 
heart. 

"  Let's  go  and  find  your  sister,  Miss  Mary.  Just 
like  Jermyn  to  make  off  with  her  like  this.  Come  and 
see  fair  play.  And,  Parkes,  before  you  do  another 
thing  mix  me  a  large  whisky  and  soda  with  a  chunk 
of  ice,  please." 

Sybil  half  closed  her  eyes.  Her  fairyland  seemed 
to  be  crumbling  up.  Jermyn  watched  her  with  a  shade 
of  real  anxiety  upon  his  face. 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN       17 

"  He  isn't  really  so  bad,  dear,"  he  whispered,  "  and 
we'll  escape  nearly  all  the  time." 

Once  more  she  looked  up  at  him  with  that  self- 
same air,  the  air  of  the  child  who  seeks  protection. 

"  Escape !  "  she  faltered.     "  Yes,  we  must  escape !  " 


CHAPTER  III 

"  I  call  this  a  most  interesting  situation,"  Lucille 
remarked,  making  a  little  poke  with  her  parasol  at  an 
intrusive  bee.  "  Our  one  dramatist  of  the  younger 
school  who  can  lay  claim  to  any  measure  of  inspira- 
tion —  forgive  me,  Jermyn,  but  I  love  to  quote  the 
Daily  Mail  —  is  studying  in  these  romantic  surround- 
ings the  woman  who  is  the  chief  interpreter  of  his 
genius.  How  do  you  like  that,  all  of  you?  If  you 
would  eat  bread  and  butter  a  little  less  vigorously,  my 
dear  Jermyn,  and  keep  your  eyes  fixed  upon  Miss 
Cluley,  you  might  help  the  illusion." 

"  Much  too  hungry,"  Jermyn  replied,  lifting  up  a 
silver  cover  and  helping  himself  to  a  scone.  "  I  had 
scarcely  any  lunch.  They  would  put  me  in  first  wicket 
down." 

"  Make  any  ?  "  Lord  Lakenham  inquired. 

"  Forty-two,"  Jermyn  answered,  holding  out  his  cup 
for  more  tea.  "  Rather  a  sound  innings,  too.  Mary, 
if  you  don't  eat  another  scone,  our  single  wicket  cricket 
match  to-morrow  is  off." 

Mary  helped  herself  without  hesitation. 

"  I  wonder  if  you  can  bowl  googlies  ?  "  she  asked. 
*'  A  girl  at  school  can." 

"  My  dear  child,"  Jermyn  assured  her  impressively, 
"  I  can  bowl  anything.  There  are  times  after  the  ball 
has  left  my  hands  when  a  very  demon  seems  to  possess 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN        19 

it.  I  can  make  it  swerve  in  the  air  like  an  American 
baseball  pitcher,  or  do  a  double  break  all  round  the 
bat." 

"  Don't  believe  a  word  of  it,"  Mary  declared, 
derisively.  "  I  don't  believe  there  is  such  a  thing  as  a 
double  break." 

"  Pity  they  never  tried  you  for  the  county,"  Lord 
Lakenham  remarked.  "  I  never  remember  seeing  you 
bowl  an  over  in  a  match  in  my  life." 

Jermyn  sighed  gently  as  he  stirred  his  tea. 

"  There  is  so  much  jealousy  in  county  cricket,"  he 
explained.  "  If  you  are  played  for  your  batting,  you 
are  expected  to  bat  and  to  make  runs.  To  bowl  as  well 
is  not  good  form." 

"  Ever  been  put  on?  "  Lakenham  persisted. 

"  Never,"  Jermyn  confessed.  "  That,  however,  is 
entirely  due  to  my  modesty.  I  have  never  mentioned 
my  peculiar  acquirements.  Wait  until  you  see  me  bowl, 
Mary,  at  the  nets  to-morrow!  Lucille,  Miss  Cluley 
will  have  a  little  more  tea." 

"  Miss  Cluley  is  finding  you  all  much  too  frivolous," 
Lucille  pronounced.  "  She  sides  with  me,  I  am  sure. 
Jermyn  ought  to  be  lying  on  the  grass,  studying  every 
trick  of  your  features,  every  change  of  your  expression, 
oughtn't  he,  Miss  Cluley?  This  is  his  great  oppor- 
tunity." 

"  I  am  not  sure,"  Sybil  replied,  "  that  a  tea-party 
is  calculated  to  call  up  any  emotions  worth  studying." 

"  My  dear,"  Lucille  declared,  "  a  tea-party  is  some- 
times an  epitome  of  all  the  passions.  I  have  known 
tragedies  lived  and  acted  during  the  progress  of  this 
apparently  harmless  meal.  I  have  seen  women  share 
a  plate  of  muffins  who  I  knew  were  thirsting  for  one 


20        THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

another's  blood.  In  Hungary  I  remember  two  deputies 
who  were  absolutely  the  most  polite  men  there,  who 
went  out  and  fought  a  most  savage  duel  ten  minutes 
after  taking  chocolate  and  sweetmeats  with  me.  There 
is  no  telling  what  feelings  may  be  concealed  between 
the  lightest  and  idlest  of  chatter.  Don't  you  agree 
with  me,  Miss  Cluley?  " 

Sybil  looked  up  and  met  Lucille's  gaze,  half  lazy, 
half  insolent.  Quick  of  comprehension,  she  was  sud- 
denly conscious  of  an  enemy.  Her  heart  sank  but 
she  answered  coolly  enough. 

"  Repression  is  rather  the  fashion,  nowadays,  isn't 
it?  It  makes  acting  very  difficult.  After  all,  you 
know,  a  little  noise  does  help." 

"  I  am  afraid  you  won't  get  much  out  of  Jermyn," 
Lucille  said.  "  His  methods  are  almost  crawly,  they 
are  so  quiet." 

"  Give  me  a  good  honest  melodrama,"  Lakenham  de- 
clared. "  I  like  to  see  my  hero  and  my  villain  on  the 
stage  and  have  them  fight  it  out.  Plenty  of  blood-let- 
ting, I  say.  It's  the  old-fashioned  method  but  it's  the 
surest  and  safest.  Drury  Lane  for  me  all  the  time! 
Now  why  are  you  looking  at  me  so  intently,  Miss 
Cluley?  Of  course,  you  think  I'm  talking  rubbish." 

Sybil  withdrew  her  eyes  with  a  little  start. 

"  As  a  matter  of  fact,"  she  replied,  "  I  think  that  I 
was  agreeing  with  you.  Craft  goes  a  long  way  round 
but  it  sometimes  loses  its  way.  Simple  force  speaks 
first  and  speaks,  perhaps,  more  surely." 

There  was  a  brief  pause.  Sybil's  words  were  spoken 
lightly  enough  yet  Jermyn  turned  round  to  glance  at 
her.  There  was  a  strain  of  earnestness  in  the  conver- 
sation which  he  did  not  quite  appreciate. 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN        21 

"  In  these  days,  unfortunately,"  Lucille  said,  "  the 
subtler  methods  of  requital  are  safer.  To  poison  your 
dearest  enemy  might  lead  to  most  unpleasant  reprisals, 
but  you  can  at  least  tell  everybody  where  she  buys  her 
hats,  and  the  secret  of  her  complexion." 

Jermyn  shivered  palpably. 

"  You  women  are  crueller  by  nature  than  we  are," 
he  declared.  "  A  simple  shot  through  the  heart  would 
satisfy  us.  Now,"  he  added,  rising  to  his  feet,  "  I  want 
to  warn  you  all  that  I  am  going  to  be  a  monopolist.  I 
am  going  to  take  Miss  Cluley  away  by  myself  into  the 
most  secluded  spot  I  can  think  of,  and  I  shan't  even 
tell  you  where  it  is.  The  rest  of  you  can  do  exactly 
as  you  like.  Lakenham,  you  can  flirt  with  Lucille  — 
she  is  just  from  Paris  and  in  splendid  practice  —  or 
you  can  play  games  with  Mary.  Please !  " 

He  held  out  his  hands  to  Sybil.  She  sprang  lightly 
to  her  feet.  Her  eyes  thanked  him. 

"  Nice  sort  of  host  you  are,"  Lakenham  complained. 
"  I've  got  to  go  to-morrow  or  the  next  day.  When  am 
I  going  to  see  anything  of  Miss  Cluley?  " 

"  My  dear  fellow,"  Jermyn  replied,  "  I  simply  do 
not  care.  In  this  matter  you  are  a  Philistine.  You 
are  outside  the  gates  of  the  garden  in  which  Miss  Cluley 
and  I  are  privileged  to  wander.  We  belong,  you  see, 
to  the  sacred  coterie.  We  are  artists,  and  the  work 
of  each  one  of  us  depends  upon  the  other.  I  have  an 
invincible  claim  to  monopolize  Miss  Cluley  altogether." 

"  Miserable  selfishness ! "  Lakenham  grumbled. 
"  You  don't  suppose  Miss  Cluley  wants  to  be  talking 
shop  all  the  time  ?  " 

"  A  remark,"  Jermyn  retorted,  "  which  proves  to  me, 
my  dear  cousin,  that  you  have  never  had  the  privilege 


22        THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

of  knowing  intimately  any  one  who  belongs  to  the 
Profession.  It's  absolutely  all-engrossing,  isn't  it, 
Miss  Cluley?" 

"  Absolutely,"   she  admitted. 

"  That's  why  you  chucked  novels  and  took  to  plays, 
I  suppose?  "  Lakenham  asked. 

"  It  was  perhaps  a  mistake,"  Jermyn  acknowledged, 
with  a  sigh.  "  Before,  I  was  at  least  a  man  and  a 
novelist.  Now  I  have  sold  myself  into  slavery  —  I  am 
a  dramatist.  Come  along,  Miss  Cluley.  Don't  mind 
him,  really." 

Lakenham  watched  them  cross  the  lawn  and  disap- 
pear in  one  of  the  walks.  His  eyes  never  left  the  girl's 
figure.  Lucille  also  turned  her  head.  She  watched 
Sybil  with  the  thoughtful  yet  grudging  appraisement 
of  a  rival. 

"  The  girl  has  the  trick  of  walking  as  though  she 
trod  on  air,"  she  remarked.  "  She  is  really  amazingly 
graceful." 

Lakenham  grunted.  He  was  still  looking  at  the  en- 
trance to  the  laurel  walk  down  which  the  two  figures  had 
disappeared. 

"  If  only  I  could  —  remember ! "  he  exclaimed, 
moodily. 

Lucille  looked  at  him  with  dawning  curiosity. 

"  Remember  what?  " 

He  turned  around  to  be  sure  that  Mary  was  out  of 
hearing.  She  had  taken  some  biscuits  and  was  throw- 
ing them  to  the  swans  in  the  lake  a  little  distance  away. 

"  Something  about  this  girl.  What  does  Jermyn 
have  her  down  here  for  and  take  the  trouble  to  pro- 
vide a  chaperon?  What's  it  mean,  I  wonder?  Who  is 
she?" 


His  companion  was  looking  at  him  steadfastly.      Page  23. 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN       23 

"  Who  is  she  ? "  Lucille  repeated.  "  Now  surely 
that  is  an  unnecessary  question.  Everybody  knows 
who  Sybil  Cluley  is." 

"  Yes,  yes ! "  he  agreed,  impatiently.  "  One  gets 
tired  of  reading  that  she  is  the  prettiest,  and  most 
charming,  and  sweetest,  and  most  virtuous  young  ac- 
tress on  the  stage.  We  know  all  about  that.  What 
I  can't  get  out  of  my  head  is  that  I  knew  something  of 
her  before  all  these  wonderful  things  happened." 

His  companion  was  looking  at  him  steadfastly. 
Her  fine  eyes  were  fixed  upon  his  face,  her  head  was 
resting  upon  the  slim  fingers  of  her  right  hand. 

"  How  interesting !  "  she  murmured.  "  You  are  not 
going  to  tell  me  that  she  was  one  of  that  innumerable 
army  of  your  victims  ?  " 

"  I  tell  you  I  can't  remember,"  he  declared,  irri- 
tably. "  A  thing  like  that  always  bothers  me." 

Lucille's  fingers  trifled  with  her  parasol.  From  un- 
derneath it,  however,  she  was  studying  her  companion's 
discontented  expression  with  real  interest. 

"  It  is  curious  that  your  memory  should  have  served 
you  such  a  trick,"  she  remarked,  after  a  moment's 
pause.  "  I  wonder  whether  it  has  occurred  to  you 
that  Miss  Cluley  might  be  troubled  in  the  same 
manner?  " 

Lakenham  selected  a  cigar  from  his  case  and  bit  off 
the  end  savagely. 

"What  do  you  mean?" 

Lucille  laughed  softly. 

"  My  dear  man,"  she  went  on,  "  couldn't  you  see 
how  she  kept  her  back  to  you  all  the  time,  whenever 
she  could?  I  am  afraid  that  she  must  dislike  you  very 
much  indeed.  I  am  rather  a  keen  observer  of  these 


24        THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

little  things  and  I  couldn't  help  noticing  that  she  never 
even  glanced  towards  you  if  she  could  help  it." 

"  Just  the  same  in  the  motor,"  Lakenham  admitted, 
reluctantly.  "  Can't  think  what  she  means  by  it. 
She's  the  prettiest  little  thing  I  ever  saw  in  my  life, 
too !  "  he  added,  enthusiastically.  "  I've  got  past  the 
impressionable  age,  you  know,  but  that  girl  could  make 
a  fool  of  me  whenever  she  chose." 

"  At  present,"  Lucille  continued,  smoothly,  "  she 
seems  to  have  no  inclination  in  that  direction.  I  agree 
with  you,  of  'course,  that  she  is  very  sweet  and  very 
beautiful,  but  all  the  same  — " 

"  What?  " 

Lucille  smoothed  her  muslin  gown  over  her  knees. 

"  I  don't  want  Jermyn  to  marry  her,"  she  said 
quietly. 

"  Is  he  thinking  of  it?  " 

"  It  is  just  the  sort  of  idiotic  thing,"  Lucille  de- 
clared, "  that  one  might  expect  of  him.  The  more  I 
think  of  it,  the  more  frightened  I  become.  Jermyn 
lives  all  the  time  with  his  head  in  the  clouds.  He  is 
straining  always  to  find  something  better  than  the 
things  which  actually  exist.  He  worships  beauty  and 
he  wants  to  believe  that  everything  which  he  sees  is 
beautiful.  It  is  a  very  dangerous  state.  He  won't 
condescend  to  look  down  and  see  the  way  ordinary  hu- 
man beings  really  live.  If  the  girl  has  her  wits  about 
her,  I  am  afraid  it's  all  up  with  Jermyn,  unless  — 

"Unless  what?" 

"  Unless  you  can  remember !  " 

Lakenham  grinned,  amiably  yet  not  pleasantly. 

"  Devilish  amusing,  this ! "  he  exclaimed.  "  We 
were  talking  of  Drury  Lane  just  now.  Here  we  are, 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN        25 

you  and  I,  villain  and  adventuress  in  the  latest  melo- 
drama. Can  we  pick  a  hole  in  the  spotless  heroine's 
past?  " 

"  It  is  at  any  rate  a  melodrama  of  real  life,"  Lucille 
declared.  "  You  see,  the  whole  affair  is  really  most  an- 
noying for  me.  I  have  always  intended  to  marry 
Jermyn  myself." 

"  Quite  a  natural  arrangement,"  Lakenham  agreed, 
"  if  you  really  do  intend  to  take  up  matrimony  again. 
I  am  a  much  better  match,  you  know." 

She  looked  at  him  with  a  faint  smile.  In  her  way 
she  was  more  beautiful  than  Sybil,  but  she  was  certainly 
not  the  type  which  appealed  to  Lakenham. 

"  I  don't  think  you're  quite  my  style,  Aynesworth," 
she  remarked.  "  You  have  lived  too  long  and  too 
rapidly.  You  should  marry  an  ingenue  —  that  will 
probably  be  your  fate  in  a  few  years'  time.  Why  not 
make  a  Marchioness  of  your  long-legged  friend  down 
by  the  pond?  She'll  be  as  pretty  as  her  sister,  no 
doubt,  when  she  grows  up." 

"  Thank  you,"  Lakenham  grunted,  "  I'm  not  taking 
that  sort  into  St.  George's,  Hanover  Square." 

"  You  ought  to  be  thankful  to  take  anything  you 
can  get,"  Lucille  said,  severely.  "  I  don't  think  any 
nice  girl  who  knew  what  she  was  doing,  would  look  at 
you." 

"  If  you  slang  me  much  longer,"  he  grumbled,  "  I'll 
leave  off  trying  to  remember." 

She  smiled  at  him. 

"  I  am  not  afraid  of  that,  Aynesworth.  You  know, 
you  are  rather  a  vain  man  and  you  are  a  little  piqued. 
You  are  just  in  the  frame  of  mind  to  be  dogged.  Be- 
sides, you  admire  Miss  Cluley  yourself.  Every  man 


26        THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

does,  of  course.  Nothing  would  please  you  more  than 
suddenly  to  remember  the  sort  of  thing  you  would  like 
to  remember  about  her,  and  to  take  her  into  a  quiet 
corner  and  remind  her  of  it.  She'd  have  to  be  nice 
to  you  then,  wouldn't  she  ?  " 

"  I  wouldn't  be  your  husband  for  anything ! " 
Lakenham  declared.  "  You're  too  clever  to  live  with  in 
comfort.  Here's  the  child  coming  back." 

Lucille  rose  to  her  feet. 

"  I  shall  take  her  to  see  the  peacocks,"  she  decided. 
"  She  might  be  worth  cultivating.  You  had  better 
come,  too." 

Lakenham  shook  his  head  and  threw  himself  into 
a  comfortable  chair. 

"  Not  I,"  he  answered.  "  I  believe  her  sister's  told 
her  not  to  talk  to  me  if  she  can  help  it.  She  avoids 
me  all  the  time,  and  I'm  sure  I  don't  want  to  play 
around  with  a  long-legged  brat.  I  am  going  to  sit 
here  —  and  stir  up  the  ashes  of  my  sinful  past.  Per- 
haps in  that  way  I  may  remember ! " 


CHAPTER  IV 

Jermyn  led  his  companion  down  the  narrow  path 
which  threaded  the  shrubberies,  towards  the  flower 
gardens. 

"  Sometimes,"  he  remarked,  as  he  opened  the  little 
iron  gate  which  led  into  the  open  spaces,  "  I  am  in- 
clined to  believe  that  Hazlitt  was  an  idiot,  and  that 
your  art  must  be,  in  reality,  of  a  higher  order  than  any 
other.  You  are  face  to  face  with  a  continual  struggle 
to  escape  from  flagrantly  artificial  surroundings.  You 
have  all  the  time  to  project  yourself  into  an  at- 
mosphere of  your  own  creation.  Now  down  here,  for 
instance,  in  my  study,  which  looks  over  these  gardens 
and  across  the  valley,  work  seems  almost  spontaneous, 
the  thoughts  come  unbidden." 

Her  eyes  were  traveling  over  the  glowing  carpet  of 
color,  across  the  tree  tops  of  the  park  to  the  dim  blue 
of  the  hills. 

"  You  never  told  me  that  your  home  was  so  beauti- 
ful," she  murmured. 

"  I  wanted  you  to  come  and  see  it  for  yourself,"  he 
replied.  "  You  see,  one  is  never  sure  what  the  place 
one  cares  for  most  in  the  world  will  seem  like  to  any- 
body else.  I  do  hope  that  you  and  your  sister,  too, 
will  enjoy  this  little  holiday." 

"  Do  you  think  there  could  be  any  doubt  about  it  ?  " 
she  asked  him,  smiling.  "  It  was  so  nice  of  you  to 


28        THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

invite  Mary.  I  love  to  see  her  in  the  country.  I  want 
to  have  her  grow  up  fond  of  the  country  and  country 
ways." 

He  nodded. 

"  There  is  no  place  quite  so  dear  to  me  as  Annerley," 
he  said.  "  At  the  same  time,  one  has  to  remember  that 
life  is  a  leaven  of  many  things.  We  mustn't  be  too 
bucolic.  What  should  we  do  without  the  inspiration  of 
the  great  cities?  " 

"  Oh,  I  realize  that ! "  she  answered  softly.  "  I 
know  it.  I  feel  that  little  thrill  of  excitement  every 
time  I  enter  London.  In  a  lesser  degree  I  feel  it  every 
time  I  enter  the  theatre.  It's  all  wonderful,  of  course, 
and  while  it  lasts  it's  engrossing  enough.  Yet  there 
is  always  the  reverse  side  and  the  reverse  side  is 
horrible." 

"  Is  it  my  fancy,"  he  asked,  "  or  have  you  come  down 
to-day  a  little  depressed?  " 

She  hesitated. 

"  I  started  all  right,"  she  assured  him,  "  in  fact, 
I  think  I  felt  like  a  child  who  has  a  wonderful  holi- 
day before  it.  Of  the  two,  I  think  I  was  more  excited 
even  than  Mary." 

He  looked  down  into  her  face,  frowning  slightly  for 
a  moment. 

"  I  can't  help  fearing,"  he  said,  "  that  something  has 
annoyed  you.  Forgive  me,  Miss  Cluley  —  forgive  me, 
Sybil,  won't  you,  if  I  ask  you  a  rather  impertinent 
question?  Lakenham  is  my  cousin,  of  course,  and,  I 
believe,  a  decent  fellow  in  a  general  sort  of  way,  but 
I  know  also  that  he  can  be  an  unmannerly  brute  on 
occasions.  He  didn't  annoy  you,  by  any  chance,  on 
the  way  here?  " 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN       29 

"  Not  in  the  least,"  she  answered.  "  He  talked  to 
Mary  most  of  the  time." 

"  You  don't  happen  to  have  any  prejudice  against 
him,  to  have  met  him  or  heard  of  him  before  —  to  have 
met  him  yourself,  I  mean?  " 

Sybil  stooped  down  and  picked  a  spray  of  lavender, 
which  she  arranged  in  the  bosom  of  her  gown. 

"  I  have  never  met  so  exalted  a  personage  as  a  mar- 
quis before  in  my  life,"  she  declared.  "  As  I  told 
you,  I  have  heard  something  which  has  perhaps  prej- 
udiced me,  but  apart  from  that  I  do  not  like  him.  It 
is  a  sort  of  instinct,  I  suppose.  I  am  afraid  of  him. 
He  reminds  me  of  a  certain  type  of  man,  and  that  type 
of  man  recalls  a  short  part  of  my  life  which  makes  me 
hysterical  when  I  even  think  of  it.  That  is  all.  It  is 
very  foolish  of  me.  Let  us  for  these  few  minutes,  at 
any  rate,  sweep  him  away,  up  into  the  clouds  or  down 
under  the  earth.  It  isn't  worth  while  letting  the 
thought  of  him  poison  this  perfect  afternoon.  I  think 
that  your  gardens  are  the  loveliest  I  have  ever  seen. 
And  are  those  really  peaches  on  the  walls?  " 

He  picked  one  and  gave  it  to  her.  She  ate  it  with 
a  little  murmur  of  delight. 

"  Fancy  having  all  these  things  growing  instead  of 
seeing  them  only  in  the  restaurants ! "  she  exclaimed. 
"  How  Mary  will  enjoy  this !  " 

"  We'll  have  a  regular  tour  of  inspection  in  the  morn- 
ing," he  promised,  "  but  this  first  half-hour  I  wanted 
to  spend  with  you  alone.  Come  a  little  further  still, 
Sybil." 

He  opened  a  green  postern  gate,  studded  with  nails 
and  set  into  the  ancient  wall,  and  they  passed  through 
it  into  a  corner  of  the  park.  A  little  further  on  was 


30        THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

a  thickly  growing  plantation,  an  arm  stretched  out 
from  the  belt  of  forest  behind  the  house.  He  opened 
the  gate  and  they  passed  inside.  The  rabbits  scurried 
away  at  their  feet,  the  trees  overhead  grew  so  thickly 
that  only  little  streaks  of  sunshine  lay  like  a  gilded 
skein  upon  the  brambles  and  undergrowth. 

"  Sybil,"  Jermyn  said  quietly,  "  can't  you  imagine 
why  it  makes  me  so  happy  to  have  you  down  here  — 
why  I  have  been  looking  forward  to  it  so  much?  " 

She  looked  at  him  for  a  moment,  genuinely  startled. 
One  of  the  hardest  parts  of  her  lonely  life  during  the 
last  few  years  had  been  to  keep  men  from  making  love 
to  her.  She  flattered  herself  that  she  knew  the  exact 
symptoms,  the  exact  type  of  man  from  whom  they 
might  be  expected.  She  was  always  on  her  guard. 
And  yet  now  she  had  a  sudden  feeling  that  something 
wonderful  was  going  to  happen,  something  wholly  un- 
expected, something  against  which  no  measure  of 
preparation  nor  any  possible  resistance  could  avail  her. 
Their  meetings  in  London,  every  one  of  which  she  re- 
membered, had  been  almost  formal.  Compared  with 
the  men  whom  she  was  in  the  habit  of  meeting  day  by 
day,  he  had  always  seemed  to  her  almost  unnaturally 
serious,  a  writer  devoted  to  his  art,  with  a  touch  of  the 
monk  in  his  disposition.  This  change  in  his  voice,  a 
look  which  she  had  surprised  in  his  eyes,  amazed  her. 
She  felt  suddenly  weak.  He  went  on. 

"  Sybil,  I  want  you  to  be  my  wife.  I  want  you,  if 
you  can,  to  care  for  me  just  a  little  at  first  so  that 
I  can  teach  you  some  day  to  care  a  great  deal.  I  want 
to  tell  you  here  and  now,  if  only  you  will  listen, 
what  you  have  come  to  mean  to  me,  how  much  I  love 
you." 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN        31 

"  You  can't  be  serious !  "  she  gasped.  "  You  don't 
really  mean  this !  " 

He  laughed  as  he  stooped  a  little  towards  her.  All 
her  strength  was  passing  away.  All  her  power  of  re- 
sistance, if  indeed  she  had  ever  desired  to  resist  him, 
seemed  numb.  A  rapturous  lassitude  was  upon  her. 
The  very  instinct  of  resistance  had  perished.  She 
yielded  herself  willingly  to  his  arms,  his  lips. 

"  Sybil,  you  must  care  for  me  a  little,"  he  pleaded. 
"  You  don't  know  how  much  you  have  come  to  mean 
to  me.  You  have  found  your  way  into  every  corner 
of  my  life,  and  when  I  sit  down  to  write,  my  heroine 
comes  back  to  me  and  smiles  out  of  your  eyes.  Then 
I  put  my  pen  down  and  I  fill  my  room  with  fancies 
which  are  so  much  more  wonderful  than  anything  one 
can  write  about.  I  want  you  so  much,  dear.  I  want 
to  see  you  here  alone  with  me,  just  as  I  have  seen  you 
in  your  pretty  frocks,  and  with  your  quaint,  fascina- 
ting little  ways,  drawing  the  tears  and  laughter  from 
all  those  crowds  in  London  just  as  easily  as  you  have 
stolen  my  heart.  Dear,  before  we  read  the  play,  won't 
you  promise  to  be  the  one  heroine  of  my  life?  " 

"  I  am  not  good  enough,"  she  sobbed  presently,  hid- 
ing her  face  against  his  shoulder.  "  You  are  much 
too  clever  and  you  ought  to  marry  some  one  quite  dif- 
ferent. But  of  course  I  love  you,  and  of  course  I'll 
marry  you,  if  you  really  mean  it." 

It  was  nearly  seven  o'clock  before  they  returned. 
Lucille  was  playing  languid  croquet  with  Mary. 
Lakenham  was  lounging  in  a  wicker  chair,  with  his 
hands  in  his  pockets  and  a  disfiguring  scowl  upon  his 
none  too  handsome  features. 

"Shall  I  tell  them?"  Jermyn  whispered. 


32        THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

She  caught  at  his  arm. 

"  Not  just  yet,  please,"  she  begged.  "  I  am  a  little 
afraid  of  the  Duchess,  and  I  am  afraid  — 

She  stopped  short.  He  followed  her  gaze  —  she 
was  looking  at  Lord  Lakenham. 

"  There  is  nothing  in  the  world,  dear,"  he  insisted, 
quietly  but  firmly,  "  which  should  make  you  afraid. 
Remember  that  you  have  me  to  protect  you  now." 

She  looked  up  at  him  swiftly.  That  one  look  was 
quite  enough  for  the  people  upon  the  lawn! 

"  It  shall  be  just  as  you  decide,"  she  said,  "  only  — 
not  this  instant,  at  any  rate." 

Lucille  raised  the  lorgnette  which  hung  from  her 
waistband,  and  looked  at  them. 

"  My  dear  people,"  she  exclaimed,  "  you  have  had 
time  to  act  a  play  instead  of  reading  it." 

Jermyn  laughed  good-humoredly.  His  cheeks  were 
a  little  flushed,  his  eyes  very  bright. 

"  I  make  no  excuses,"  he  declared.  "  I  was  per- 
fectly honest  when  I  announced  my  intention  of  mo- 
nopolizing Miss  Cluley.  How's  the  croquet  going?  " 

"  Execrably,"  Lucille  replied.  "  The  child  is  much 
too  good  for  me.  That  lazy  person  in  the  chair  flatly 
refused  to  play,  or  I  should  never  have  offered  myself 
up  as  a  sacrifice." 

"  I  am  for  the  last  hoop  with  the  blue  ball  and  black's 
a  rover,"  Mary  announced.  "  It's  quite  the  loveliest 
lawn  I  ever  played  on." 

Sybil  crossed  over  to  her  sister.  Jermyn  and  Lucille 
stood  side  by  side. 

"  You  really  are  an  angel,"  he  whispered  to  her. 
"  I  am  afraid  you  must  have  been  bored  to  death. 
Never  mind,  you  shall  have  your  reward.  I  have  some 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN        33 

people  coming  to  play  bridge  with  you  this  evening." 

"  Country  bridge !  "  she  sighed.  "  My  dear  Jermyn, 
you  do  make  large  demands  upon  your  friends." 

"  You  told  me  only  a  few  weeks  ago,"  he  reminded 
her,  "  that  auction  bridge  was  your  only  real  diversion." 

"  Not  the  sort  of  auction  bridge,  my  dear  Jermyn, 
that  your  neighbors  here  know  anything  about,  I  am 
afraid,"  she  replied.  "  Never  mind,  I  trust  I  know  my 
duty  as  a  hostess,  although  I  don't  think  I  quite  under- 
stood. ...  I  have  to  do  something  with  this  ball  —  I 
am  not  sure  what.  Please  stand  out  of  the  way." 

They  all  trooped  into  the  house  a  few  minutes  later. 
Lakenham  lingered  behind  with  Mary. 

"  You  play  that  game  jolly  well,"  he  told  her. 

"  I  love  all  games,"  the  child  confided  to  him, — 
"  cricket  best,  though." 

"  Did  you  live  in  the  country  when  you  were 
young  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Not  that  I  remember,"  Mary  confessed.  "  I 
learned  to  play  cricket  at  school." 

"  Can't  you  remember  anywhere  at  all  before  Lon- 
don ?  "  he  persisted. 

She  shook  her  head. 

"  I  don't  think  I  can  remember  as  far  back  as  some 
people,"  she  said.  "  It  isn't  much  fun  trying,  anyway. 
Are  you  going  to  play  cricket  to-morrow,  Lord  Laken- 
ham?" 

"  I  am  not  sure,"  he  answered.  "  I  am  moving  on 
to-morrow  or  the  next  day.  Don't  you  want  some 
lemonade?  " 

They  all  gathered  round  a  small  table  in  the  middle 
of  the  hall,  where  a  great  bowl  of  iced  claret  cup  and 
another  of  lemonade  had  just  been  brought.  Jermyn 


34        THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

filled  the  glasses  himself  with  a  silver  ladle.     Then  he 
took  Sybil's  hand. 

"  Lucille,"  he  said,  "  and  you,  Aynesworth,  and  you 
too,  Mary,"  he  added,  drawing  her  to  him,  "  please  all 
of  you  drink  our  healths.  Sybil  has  promised  to 
marry  me." 

The  child  gave  a  little  scream  of  delight  which,  in 
its  way,  was  merciful.  Lucille  stood  for  a  moment 
white  and  still.  Lakenham  smiled  —  not  at  all  a  pleas- 
ant smile. 

"  Quite  an  interesting  announcement,"  he  declared, 
lifting  his  glass  to  his  lips.  "  My  dear  Jermyn,  I  con- 
gratulate you.  When  this  is  known,  you  will  be  the 
most  envied  man  in  England.  I  wish  you  every  hap- 
piness, too,  Miss  Cluley.  Jermyn's  a  good  fellow  and 
he's  been  a  pretty  hard  nut  to  crack  from  a  matri- 
monial point  of  view.  Sure  I  wish  you  every  happi- 
ness." 

"  Did  you  bring  me  here,  Jermyn,"  Lucille  asked 
him  quietly,  "  on  purpose  to  give  me  this  delightful 
surprise  ?  If  so,  it  was  indeed  good  of  you ! " 

Jermyn  shook  his  head. 

"  When  I  asked  you,  Lucille,"  he  replied,  "  I  had 
neither  made  up  my  mind  myself  nor  had  I  the  least 
idea  that  Sybil  would  accept  me." 

Lucille  looked  at  him  steadily  for  a  moment.  Then 
she  turned  away  with  a  little  shrug  of  the  shoulders. 

"  I  wish  you  both  —  what  can  I  say  ?  —  all  the  hap- 
piness that  you  deserve,"  she  declared.  "  There  is 
nothing  more  than  that,  is  there?  " 

"  There  is  nothing  more,"  Jermyn  agreed. 

"  Will  Sybil  really  live  here  ?  "  Mary  inquired,  in  an 
awed  tone. 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN        35 

"  Whenever  she  chooses,"  Jermyn  replied.  "  This 
will  be  her  home,  at  any  rate,  and  yours  too,  Mary,  but 
we  shall  have  to  have  a  little  corner  of  our  own  in  town 
somewhere.  If  I  took  your  sister  away  from  her  work 
all  at  once,  I  should  probably  find  myself  the  most 
unpopular  man  in  London." 

"  The  new  play,  then,"  Lakenham  asked,  lighting  a 
cigarette  and  moving  towards  the  staircase,  "  will  not  be 
postponed?  " 

"  Certainly  not,"  Jermyn  assured  him.  "  Sybil  and 
I  are  going  to  begin  studying  it  to-night." 

The  two  sisters  went  up  the  stairs  with  their  arms 
around  one  another.  Jermyn  was  left  alone  for  a  mo- 
ment with  Lucille.  Even  he,  with  his  mind  full  of  his 
new-found  happiness,  could  scarcely  help  noticing  the 
change  which  the  last  few  minutes  seemed  to  have 
wrought  in  his  companion. 

"  You  are  tired,  Lucille,"  he  said,  compassionately. 
*'  I  ought  not  to  have  left  you  alone  with  the  child  .for 
so  long." 

"  It  is  nothing,"  she  answered.  "  Your  news  was 
just  a  little  surprising,  wasn't  it?  Tell  me,  Jermyn, 
have  you  had  this  in  your  mind  for  long?  " 

"  In  a  way,  I  have,"  he  admitted,  "  and  in  a  way, 
to  tell  you  the  honest  truth,  I  have  been  fighting 
against  it.  I  write  plays  and  I  enjoy  writing  them, 
but,  between  ourselves,  I  hate  the  English  stage  and 
everything  connected  with  it.  I  detest  the  atmosphere 
of  the  green  room,  I  dislike  intensely  a  great  many  of 
the  people  with  whom  Sybil  has  to  associate.  I  always 
admired  her,  and  yet,  for  the  reasons  I  have  mentioned, 
I  made  up  my  mind  that  I  would  try  and  conquer  it. 
You  see,  I  have  failed.  Sybil  is  an  honest,  sweet, 


36        THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

faithful  girl,  and  I  should  be  a  fool  to  hesitate  because 
I  dislike  her  surroundings.  All  the  more  credit  to  her 
for  the  way  she  has  lived." 

Lucille  raised  her  magnificent  eyes  to  his. 

"  Is  there  any  doubt  whatever,  Jermyn,"  she  asked, 
"  as  to  the  way  she  has  lived  ?  " 

There  was  silence  for  a  moment.  Jermyn  winced 
as  though  he  had  been  struck.  He  drew  himself  up  a 
little.  He  seemed  suddenly  taller  and  graver. 

"  My  dear  Lucille,"  he  said,  "  that  question  from  a 
stranger  would  have  led  to  serious  consequences.  From 
you  I  must  treat  it  as  simply  the  first  error  in  good 
taste  of  which  I  ever  remember  you  to  have  been 
guilty." 

She  walked  away  very  slowly,  without  any  further 
word.  She  ascended  the  great  stairs,  passing  with  her 
head  erect  between  the  long  lines  of  those  ancestors  of 
his  and  hers.  She  had  never  realized,  perhaps,  until 
that  moment  how  confidently  she  had  planned  some  day 
or  other  to  find  her  resting  place  in  this  house  as  its 
mistress.  She  had  looked  upon  Jermyn  as  her  certain 
possession.  He  had,  if  anything,  disliked  women. 
She  alone  had  known  how  to  soothe  his  fancies,  to  talk 
with  him  on  his  favorite  subjects,  to  bring  even  the 
admiration  sometimes  into  his  eyes.  She  had  trifled 
with  the  thing  until  it  was  too  late.  Her  nails  dug 
into  the  palms  of  her  hand  as  she  passed  along  the  cor- 
ridor, her  head  thrown  back,  her  cheeks  bloodless. 
There  was,  indeed,  but  one  chance.  If  only  Aynes- 
worth  could  remember! 


CHAPTER  V 

"  This,"  Sybil  said  softly  to  herself,  as  she  de- 
scended to  the  drawing-room,  "  should  be  one  of  the 
happiest  evenings  in  my  life.  It  shall  be ! " 

Even  Lucille,  gowned  by  Paquin  and  with  a  Euro- 
pean reputation  for  smartness,  could  find  no  fault  with 
her  guest  as  she  entered  the  room.  Sybil  wore  a  din- 
ner-gown of  blue  net,  which  a  famous  dressmaker  had 
designed  for  her,  and  a  large  bunch  of  white  sweet- 
peas  which  Jermyn  had  sent  to  her  room.  Her  face 
was  suddenly  freed  from  the  little  cloud  which  had 
sometimes  hovered  there  during  the  afternoon.  It  was 
as  though  her  great  happiness  had  triumphed  over  every 
anxiety,  had  finally  crushed  the  presentiment  which 
had  distressed  her.  She  moved  joyfully,  her  cheeks 
were  pink ;  her  eyes,  soft  and  glowing  with  excitement, 
seemed  actually  to  have  increased  in  size.  There  was  a 
touch  almost  of  shyness  as  she  took  Jermyn's  arm. 
Somehow  or  other,  the  news  seemed  to  have  spread, 
and  the  old  butler  and  the  other  servants  whom  they 
passed  on  their  way  to  the  dining-room,  bowed  with  a 
new  deference. 

"  Never  since  this  house  was  built,  dear,"  Jermyn 
told  her  softly,  "  has  it  had  so  lovely  a  mistress.  You 
know  that  we  shall  have  to  spend  a  great  deal  of  time 
here?  " 

"  I  am  not  sure,"  she  answered,  "  that  you  will  ever 


38        THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

be  able  to  get  me  away.  You  will  have  to  write  like 
the  immortals  to  inspire  me  with  ambition." 

"  Do  you  know  that  you  are  bewitching  to-night  ?  " 
he  murmured.  "  This  afternoon  you  looked  a  little 
tired,  almost  worried.  There  was  a  frown  somewhere 
upon  your  forehead,  and  a  dear  little  line  at  the  cor- 
ner of  your  eyes.  You  looked  at  poor  Lakenham  as 
though  he  were  some  sort  of  an  ogre.  Now  your  face  is 
like  an  April  sky  after  the  last  drops  of  rain  have 
fallen." 

"  It  is  because  my  heart  is  like  that,"  she  whispered. 
"  I  do  not  feel  that  there  is  an  ugly  or  an  unkind  per- 
son upon  the  face  of  the  earth." 

Sybil  let  herself  go  from  that  moment.  She  was 
gay,  she  was  charming,  she  was  joyous.  Even  Lucille, 
watching  her  always  from  her  place  at  the  end  of  the 
table,  admitted  to  herself  that  this  little  girl  from  the 
theatres  was  no  unworthy  rival.  Lord  Lakenham,  to 
whom  she  talked  with  a  new  spirit,  and  whom  she  even 
rallied  gently  upon  his  moroseness  during  the  early 
stages  of  dinner,  seemed  to  change  by  degrees  his  whole 
attitude  towards  her.  From  the  suspicious  resentment 
of  a  man  whose  attentions  have  been  slighted,  he  de- 
veloped an  admiration  which  he  took  no  pains  to  con- 
ceal. He  vied  with  Jermyn  in  gallant  speeches ;  his 
eyes  followed  her  all  the  time.  He  drank  glass  after 
glass  of  champagne,  and  his  manner  became  more  and 
more  unrestrained.  Jermyn  grew  a  little  reserved  to- 
ward the  end  of  the  meal.  He  was  glad  enough  to  see 
the  slight  antagonism  between  Sybil  and  his  cousin  re- 
moved, but  he  certainly  did  not  approve  of  Lakenham's 
present  attitude. 

"  Jermyn,  old  fellow,  I'm  not  sure  that  you  deserve 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN       39 

your  luck,"  Lakenham  declared,  setting  down  his  empty 
glass.  "  You're  a  dull  stick  sometimes,  you  know.  No 
one  would  think,  to  watch  you  now,  that  the  prettiest 
woman  in  England  had  just  promised  to  marry  you. 
If  I  thought  you  meant  to  shut  Miss  Cluley  up  here  for 
the  rest  of  her  life,  I'd  forbid  the  banns." 

"  We  haven't  an  idea  of  anything  of  the  sort," 
Jermyn  assured  him.  "  On  the  contrary,  Miss  Cluley 
and  I  are  going  to  begin  studying  the  new  play  di- 
rectly after  dinner.  You  will  in  all  probability  see  it 
produced  in  October." 

"  And  dull  stuff  I  expect  it  will  be,"  Lakenham 
grumbled.  "  I  used  to  like  Miss  Cluley  before  you  got 
hold  of  her  for  your  psychological  plays.  They're 
much  too  clever  for  me,  all  of  them.  You  ought  to  have 
stayed  in  musical  comedy,  Miss  Cluley." 

"  Do  you  think  so  ?  "  she  laughed.  "  You  know,  I 
spent  all  my  time  when  I  was  in  it  praying  for  the  day 
when  managers  would  think  that  I  was  worth  some- 
thing better." 

Lakenham  shook  his  head  vigorously. 

"  All  depends  upon  what  you  would  call  something 
better,  of  course.  For  my  part,  give  me  a  rattling 
good  musical  comedy,  with  a  jolly  good  waltz  tune, 
lots  of  pretty  girls  in  slap-up  frocks,  and  a  principal 
like  you.  There's  nothing  better  that  I  know  of." 

"  Oh,  but  there  is,  really !  "  Sybil  protested.  "  That 
may  be  all  very  pretty  and  graceful  but  it  isn't  the  real 
thing." 

"  And  what,"  Lucille  asked  calmly,  "  is  the  real 
thing?  " 

"  Not  to  amuse  people,"  Sybil  replied,  "  but  to  make 
them  feel.  Laughter,  mirth-compelling  stories  and 


40       THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN 

musical  comedies,  only  minister  to  the  holiday  mo- 
ments of  life.  To  portray  real  emotions,  to  excite 
real  sympathies,  to  make  people  think,  to  send  them 
away  feeling  that  they  have  passed  through  a  little 
epitome  of  life,  to  break  through  the  crust  and  make 
them  conscious  for  a  few  moments  of  the  great  things 
—  that  seems  to  me  so  much  more  wonderful." 

Jermyn  laid  his  hands  upon  hers,  his  eyes  glowed 
with  pleasure. 

"  That,"  he  declared,  "  is  what  we  are  going  to  do." 

Lakenham  laughed  long  and  boisterously. 

"  If  all  the  pretty  actresses  in  London  were  to  fill 
their  heads  with  those  ideas,"  he  exclaimed,  "  half  the 
theatres  would  have  to  close  their  doors  before  the  sea- 
son was  over,  and  the  other  half  wouldn't  pay !  It 
won't  do,  Miss  Cluley.  The  stage  in  London,  at  any 
rate,  wasn't  meant  for  that  sort  of  thing.  Amusement 
is  what  we  all  want,  nowadays.  We  don't  want  to 
have  our  feelings  trifled  with  after  dinner.  You  were 
the  most  divine  Elsa  who  ever  waltzed  upon  the  stage. 
You'll  never  do  anything  greater  than  that." 

She  made  a  little  grimace  at  him. 

"  For  you,  perhaps,  no,  Lord  Lakenham,  but  then, 
you  see,  there  are  many  people  in  the  world  who  have 
other  standards." 

"  Thank  heaven ! "  Jermyn  whispered  under  his 
breath.  ..."  And  now,"  he  added,  rising,  "  you 
have  all  been  warned.  There  are  some  people  in  the 
drawing-room  who  want  bridge  —  a  couple  of  men  from 
the  barracks  who  couldn't  get  over  in  time  to  dine,  and 
the  local  doctor,  who,  they  tell  me,  is  quite  first-class. 
Miss  Cluley  and  I  are  going  to  read  and  we  mustn't  be 
disturbed  upon  any  pretext." 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN       41 

Lucille  rose  slowly  to  her  feet.  She  paused  for  a 
moment  as  she  passed  her  host. 

"  Jermyn,"  she  said  quietly,  "  I  do  not  consider  it 
good  taste  on  your  part  to  go  to  your  study  and  shut 
yourself  up  with  Miss  Cluley." 

"  My  dear  Lucille,"  he  protested,  "  don't  you  under- 
stand? Miss  Cluley  came  down  here  simply  that  we 
might  study  my  new  play  together.  She  has  not  seen 
her  part  yet  and  it  is  to  be  produced  within  three 
months.  There  is  really  not  an  hour  to  lose." 

Lucille  shrugged  her  shoulders  very  slightly  and 
passed  on  her  way  out  of  the  room.  Jermyn  watched 
her  disappear  with  a  puzzled  frown  upon  his  forehead. 

"  I  am  not  sure,"  he  said  to  Sybil,  as  they  crossed 
the  hall  together,  "  that  I  quite  understand  Lucille." 

"  Then  you  are  a  goose ! "  she  laughed. 

Jermyn's  study  was  the  old  library  of  the  house, 
only  a  trifle  modernized.  The  book-cases,  which 
reached  to  the  ceiling,  were  mellow  with  age,  but  the 
interior  of  the  room,  though  still  preserving  a  certain 
scholarly  tone,  gave  evidences  of  a  more  modern  taste. 
A  baby  grand  piano  stood  in  one  corner.  There  were 
guns  and  fishing  rods  and  cricket  bats  in  evidence. 
The  windows  opened  on  to  the  lawn  and  beyond  were 
the  woods,  behind  which  the  moon,  slowly  rising,  was 
already  visible.  Jermyn  dragged  the  writing-table  up 
to  the  open  windows  and  lit  a  green-shaded  lamp. 
Then  he  placed  Sybil  by  his  side  in  a  low  chair  and 
took  up  the  play.  Suddenly  she  held  out  her  white 
arms  to  him. 

"  Jermyn,"  she  whispered,  "  never  mind  about  the 
play  for  a  moment.  Tell  me,  please,  tell  me  now, 
quickly,  that  it  isn't  all  a  dream?  It's  so  wonderful 


42        THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

that  I  feel  as  though  I  were  drawn  up  into  Heaven, 
and  then  sometimes  I  am  afraid !  " 

Her  eyes  were  large  and  round  and  pleading,  her 
voice  trembled,  her  lips  were  quivering.  Her  whole 
frame  seemed  shaken  with  suppressed  feeling.  He 
dropped  on  one  knee  by  her  side. 

"  Dearest,  it  is  all  quite  true,"  he  assured  her 
eagerly.  "  You  know  that  it  is  all  true.  I  love  you 
very  dearly  and  you  have  promised  to  be  my  wife." 

She  gripped  hold  of  him.  There  was  a  nervous 
strength  in  her  fingers  which  held  his  arms. 

"  I  am  so  afraid,"  she  murmured,  "  that  something 
may  happen,  that  it  may  all  go.  Are  you  sure  that 
you  don't  think  —  you're  not  imagining  that  I'm  bet- 
ter, that  I'm  cleverer  than  I  am?  Tell  me  that  it  is  I 
myself,  just  as  I  am  —  just  as  I  am  here  at  this  mo- 
ment —  not  different  in  any  way  —  whom  you  love  ? 
Tell  me  that,  Jermyn  ?  Make  me  sure  of  it  —  make  me 
believe  it ! " 

He  held  her  in  his  arms.  Her  heart  was  beating  fast 
against  his  as  he  kissed  her. 

"  Dear,"  he  answered,  "  it  is  indeed  you,  you  just 
as  you  are  now,  no  cleverer,  no  different,  just  you  whom 
I  love.  Nothing  shall  come  between  us.  There  is 
nothing  in  the  world  which  you  need  fear." 

She  gave  a  deep  sigh  of  content.  Nevertheless,  she 
would  not  let  him  go. 

"  Stay  where  you  are  and  I  will  tell  you  what  it  is 
that  troubles  me,"  she  went  on.  "  I  am  a  little  afraid 
of  you.  No,  don't  interrupt.  You  see,  all  of  the  men 
whom  I  met  at  the  theatres,  the  actors  and  the  man- 
ager's friends,  and  the  men  whom  one  meets  out  —  I 
don't  go  often,  you  know,  but  sometimes  I  have  to  go 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN        43 

to  the  other  girls'  houses  —  they  are  all  so  different. 
They  look  as  though  they  belonged  entirely  and  alto- 
gether to  the  world.  They  are  like  Lord  Lakenham. 
And  you  are  different.  You  are  very  different,  aren't 
you,  Jermyn?  Your  face  is  so  grave  and  quiet  some- 
times, and  you  look  as  though  the  ordinary  things  of 
life  didn't  amuse  or  interest  you.  You  look  all  the  time 
as  though  you  were  seeking  for  something  better,  some- 
thing better  always.  All  the  time  your  head  is  lifted 
towards  the  clouds.  You  seem  to  be  listening  for  the 
music  that  comes  from  Heaven.  And  I  am  on  the  earth, 
Jermyn  —  I  am  so  very  much  upon  the  earth  t  I  can't 
get  my  feet  away  from  it.  I  am  afraid  that  I  may  not 
see  what  you  see !  " 

"  You  silly  child,"  he  answered,  consolingly.  "  If  I 
am  just  a  little  different  from  the  others,  well,  it  isn't 
anything  in  the  least  to  be  afraid  of.  It  simply  hasn't 
amused  me  to  lead  the  ordinary  London  life.  I  have 
loved  my  books;  I  have  loved  to  study  a  little.  I  am 
fond  of  the  country  and  country  sports  —  so  will  you 
be  in  time.  But  don't  believe  for  a  moment,  please, 
that  I  am  a  prig.  I  think  I  really  do  know  the  value  of 
things.  I  want  to  come  nearer  to  you,  just  as  much  as 
I  want  to  draw  you  a  little  nearer  to  me.  It's  humanity 
I  want  to  study,  dear,  and  you'll  help  me,  I  know.  If  I 
was  a  little  quiet  at  dinner-time,  well,  you  must  for- 
give me.  Lakenham  was  making  rather  an  ass  of  him- 
self, wasn't  he?  " 

She  held  him  once  more  tightly  in  her  arms. 

**  I  never  dreamed  that  this  would  come  to  me,"  she 
said  softly,  "  but  now  that  it  has  come  I  couldn't  bear 
to  lose  you.  It's  been  so  hard,  the  last  few  years, 
Jermyn.  I've  tried  almost  to  shut  myself  up  lately, 


44        THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

but  there  have  always  been  men  whom  one  meets  some- 
how or  other,  and  they  have  come,  and  before  I  have 
talked  to  them  for  an  afternoon  or  an  evening  they  be- 
gin the  same  old  foolish,  insincere,  artificial  love-mak- 
ing, just  because  I  am  Sybil  Cluley,  I  suppose,  a  lit- 
tle girl  on  the  comedy  stage.  I've  wanted  friends  so 
often  and  the  women  are  very  scarce  who  would  know 
me  and  whom  I  would  care  to  know,  and  even  the  nice 
men,  whom  I  would  like  to  have  been  friendly  with,  al- 
ways began  to  try  to  pay  me  compliments  and  imagine 
things,  instead  of  treating  me  like  a  reasonable  human 
being.  I  was  getting  tired  of  it  all,  tired  to  death, 
Jermyn,  and  I  was  so  lonely.  And  then  you  came,  and 
now  everything  is  wonderful.  I  don't  feel,  somehow, 
that  I  have  any  right  to  be  as  happy  as  I  am,  and  yet  I 
don't  feel  that  I  could  bear  it  if  it  didn't  last." 

He  smiled  at  her  confidently. 

"  Do  I  feel  like  a  dream,  dear?  "  he  asked.  "  Do  you 
think  that  I  could  fade  away?  I  am  a  very  solid,  hu- 
man man,  and  I  love  you  far  too  much  to  give  you  up 
—  ever." 

She  drew  a  long  sigh  of  content. 

"  If  you  are  sure,"  she  said ;  "  if  you  are  quite,  quite 
sure  —  well,  then,  we  will  begin  the  play." 


The  last  page  of  the  manuscript  was  turned.  The 
moon  now  was  clear  of  the  tree  tops,  yellow  and  lumi- 
nous in  the  midsummer  sky.  A  little  breeze  was  rustling 
among  the  firs,  a  breeze  which  brought  through  the  open 
French-windows  occasional  wafts  of  spicy  perfume  from 
the  flower-gardens.  Sybil's  eyes  were  glowing,  but  she 
was  very  quiet. 

"  It  is  wonderful,"  she  whispered.  "  It  is  really 
wonderful,  Jermyn.  And  yet,  I  am  so  sorry.'* 

"Sorry?" 

She  wiped  the  tears  from  her  eyes. 

"  I  am  sorry  for  the  woman  —  for  *  Nora  ' —  for  the 
woman  who  will  be  myself." 

"  She  deceived  her  husband,"  he  said,  a  little  sternly. 
"  She  lied  to  her  friend." 

"  But  there  was  a  reason,"  she  reminded  him  eagerly. 
"  She  didn't  do  it  for  her  own  sake.  Every  evil  thing 
she  did  was  to  save  another  from  suffering." 

"  She  broke  her  word,"  Jermyn  remarked  calmly. 
"  There  isn't  any  excuse  in  this  world  for  a  woman  who 
deliberately  breaks  her  word." 

"  No  excuse ! "  she  repeated,  her  eyes  still  holding 
his. 

"  None !  Can't  you  see  that  what  she  did  in  that 
first  act  was  like  a  black  spot  upon  her  life?  She  was 
never  the  same  afterwards.  She  lost  her  self-respect. 


The  lie  that  followed  seemed  almost  natural  to  her.  The 
moment  she  let  go  of  the  absolute  truth  she  began  to 
sink." 

"  But  she  was  tempted  —  she  was  horribly  tempted, 
and  women  are  so  weak  when  they  are  lonely,"  Sybil 
reminded  him,  tearfully. 

He  smiled  at  her. 

"  Dear,"  he  said,  "  of  course  she  was  tempted.  If 
there  was  no  temptation,  how  could  there  be  any  sin? 
A  man  is  judged  not  by  the  number  of  his  sins  but  by 
the  number  of  temptations  which  he  has  overcome. 
Sinlessness  in  a  person  who  has  encountered  absolutely 
no  temptation  is  scarcely  even  a  quality ;  it  is  a  neces- 
sary condition  of  existence.  Now  tell  me  really  what 
you  think  of  your  part?  " 

"  If  I  can  ever  play  it,"  she  replied,  "  it  will  be  my 
best." 

"  You  really  mean  that  ?  " 

"  I  do,"  she  insisted.  "  I  honestly  do.  And  yet,  be- 
cause I  am  so  sure  of  it  I  am  a  little  afraid.  I  believe 
that  I  could  play  the  part  of  '  Nora  *  so  that  I  could 
bring  tears  to  the  eyes  of  every  woman  who  understands, 
and  of  every  man  who  loves  the  woman  who  understands. 
Oh,  I  know  what  *  Nora '  was.  But  then  she  was  hu- 
man, so  human  that  I  am  afraid.  She  is  like  me  —  just 
like  me." 

Jermyn  laughed  reassuringly. 

"  And  why  shouldn't  you  be  human,  dear,"  he  an- 
swered, stooping  towards  her,  "  adorably,  wonderfully 
human?  And  I  wouldn't  have  you  anything  else. 
Bring  your  little  faults  with  you,  dear,  and  I'll  love 
them.  Now  let's  put  the  play  away  for  a  time.  It's 
all  rather  emotional,  isn't  it,  and  I  don't  want  you  to  be 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN        47 

overstrung.  I  wonder  if  you  know  what  you  are  really 
like,  little  lady?  Look  here." 

He  drew  an  illustrated  paper  towards  him  and  turned 
over  the  pages. 

"  It  only  arrived  this  evening,"  he  said,  "  so  I  don't 
suppose  you  have  seen  it.  The  photograph  you  know, 
of  course,  but  did  you  ever  see  such  a  lovely  reproduc- 
tion? I  think  that  I  shall  frame  it  just  as  it  is.  It 
is  softer  and  more  beautiful  even  than  the  photograph 
itself." 

He  showed  her  the  full-length  picture  of  herself. 
She  looked  at  it  approvingly. 

"  Am  I  really  as  nice  as  that  ?  "  she  murmured. 

"  Nicer  by  far,"  he  assured  her,  smiling.  "  There 
are  qualities  in  your  face,  dear,  which  no  photographer 
could  ever  know  anything  about.  And  do  you  see  what 
a  wonderful  person  you  are?  Two  pages  —  biography 
or  interview  or  something.  Nobody  ever  wanted  to 
interview  me  at  that  length." 

She  leaned  over  his  shoulder. 

"  You  stupid  person  !  "  she  declared.  "  As  though 
you  could  possibly  compare  us  !  " 

"  I  am  not  jealous,"  he  laughed,  "but  there's  no  il- 
lustrated paper  could  find  as  much  to  say  about  me. 
Here  you  are.  Born  —  gracious,  you're  twenty-three 
years  old !  —  no,  twenty-four  1  Stock  companies  for  so 
long,  musical  comedies  so  long,  your  first  great  success 
a  fluke.  You  were  playing  —  why,  what's  the  matter, 
Sybil?  What  is  it,  dear?  " 

He  broke  off  suddenly  and  looked  at  her  in  amaze- 
ment. A  hoarse  little  cry  had  broken  from  her  lips ;  the 
color  was  fading  from  her  cheeks.  She  was  gazing  in- 
tently at  the  page  from  which  he  had  been  idly  quoting. 


48        THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

"  It's  there !  "  she  cried.     "  There !  " 

Jermyn  looked  from  the  paper  to  her,  and  back  again. 

"  What's  there?  "  he  asked.  "  Sybil,  I  don't  under- 
stand." 

She  opened  her  lips  and  closed  them  again.  Her 
eyes  were  still  distended,  the  fingers  of  one  hand  were 
clutching  his  shoulder.  She  was  reading  a  certain 
paragraph.  He  followed  her  eyes.  There  was  noth- 
ing to  be  read  except  the  ordinary  story,  a  few  simple 
facts  of  her  earlier  career.  She  had  been  playing  in 
stock  companies  at  Blackpool  when  she  was  compelled 
to  give  up  her  position  and  go  to  London  to  take  her 
sister  to  a  hospital.  While  she  was  waiting  for  an 
operation  to  take  place,  a  small  part  was  offered  to  her 
at  the  last  moment  in  a  London  production.  She  was 
the  success  of  the  play.  From  that  moment  she  had 
never  looked  back. 

"  What  on  earth  is  wrong  with  it,  dear?  "  he  per- 
sisted. "  I  can't  see  anything,  not  a  line,  that  you 
should  not  be  proud  of." 

She  was  beginning  to  recover  herself.  Her  cheeks, 
though,  were  still  ivory  white.  Even  her  lips  were  al- 
most bloodless. 

"  There  —  isn't  anything,"  she  faltered.  "  For- 
give me,  I  am  just  a  little  hysterical.  Seeing  it  all 
down  there  made  me  think  of  my  struggles,  of  those 
early  days !  It  was  hard  work,  Jermyn." 

"  My  dear !  "  he  said,  consolingly.  "  You  mustn't ! 
Those  days  are  all  over  and  done  with  now.  If  you 
think  of  them  at  all,  you  should  think  of  them  with 
pride.  You  should  be  as  proud  of  yourself  as  I  am  of 
you  to  think  that  you  fought  your  way  through  every- 
thing, alone  and  unhelped." 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN        49 

"  Is  there  another  of  those  papers  in  the  house  ?  " 
she  asked. 

He  shook  his  head.     "  Not  that  I  know  of." 

She  deliberately  tore  a  page  out  and  thrust  it  into 
the  bosom  of  her  gown. 

"  I  don't  want  people  to  read  this  and  make  fun  of 
me,"  she  said.  "  Keep  the  rest  of  it  here.  Don't  let 
any  one  see  it." 

"  No  one  will  come  in  here,  dear,"  he  promised.  "  Of 
course,  I  think  you're  a  foolish  little  girl.  I  should  be 
very  proud  of  that  biography,  if  I  were  you.  Now 
don't  let's  think  any  more  of  it,  though.  We'd  better 
go  across  into  the  drawing-room  and  say  good-night. 
I  think  I  shall  pack  you  off  to  bed.  Do  you  know  that 
it's  nearly  eleven  o'clock?" 

She  rose  to  her  feet.  All  the  life  and  spirits  of  a 
few  hours  ago  seemed  to  have  gone.  Once  more  the 
little  wrinkle  was  there  by  her  eyes.  She  seemed  all 
the  time  to  be  thinking. 

"  Jermyn,"  she  asked,  "  how  long  is  Lord  Lakenham 
going  to  stay  here?" 

"  He  is  off  to-morrow  or  the  next  day,  I  think," 
Jermyn  replied,  "  unless  you  have  turned  his  head  com- 
pletely. You  seem  to  have  got  over  your  dislike  of 
him,"  he  added,  smiling.  "  A  very  little  more  and  I 
should  have  been  jealous." 

She  shuddered. 

"  Jealous  of  Lord  Lakenham !  No,  I  don't  think  so, 
Jermyn!  Will  you  promise  me  something?" 

"  To-night,  dear,"  he  answered,  "  I  will  promise  you 
anything." 

"  If  he  wants  to  stay,  don't  let  him.  If  you  can  get 
rid  of  him  to-morrow,  let  him  go." 


50        THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

"  You  foolish  child ! "  Jermyn  laughed.  "  I  can't 
turn  him  out  at  a  moment's  notice  if  he  wants  to  stay. 
There  isn't  any  plausible  reason  for  it.  But  if  you 
make  a  point  of  it,  I'll  insist  upon  his  clearing  out  the 
day  afterwards.  I  don't  think  you  need  have  any  fear, 
though.  There  can't  be  anything  for  him  to  do  here 
and  he  always  needs  a  good  deal  of  amusement." 

She  looked  behind  at  the  illustrated  paper  lying  upon 
the  table. 

"  You  don't  think  that  any  one  will  come  in  here, 
Jermyn  ?  "  she  whispered. 

"  No  one,  dear,"  he  answered.  "  Now  before  we  go 
out  I  want  you  to  give  me  one  kiss,  and  then  I  am  going 
to  ask  you  just  one  question." 

She  held  up  her  lips. 

"  The  question  first  ?  "  she  begged. 

He  held  her  tightly. 

"  There  are  never  going  to  be  any  secrets  between 
us,"  he  said  softly ;  "  never  any  secrets  or  the  shadow 
of  a  secret.  Why  don't  you  want  Lord  Lakenham  to 
see  that  paper?  " 


CHAPTER  VII 

Jermyn  entered  the  smoking-room  about  half  an  hour 
later,  and  found  Lakenham  installed  in  one  easy-chair 
with  his  feet  upon  another,  a  large  brandy-and-soda 
by  his  side,  and  a  pipe  of  bulldog  pattern  in  his  mouth, 
from  which  he  was  emitting  columns  of  smoke  with  an 
air  of  great  satisfaction. 

"  I  say,  Jermyn,  is  Miss  Cluley  better?  "  he  asked 
anxiously. 

Jermyn  nodded.  He  brought  himself  a  whisky-and- 
soda  from  the  sideboard  and  drew  up  an  easy-chair  to- 
wards his  guest. 

"  Yes,  she  seems  all  right  now,"  he  announced.  "  It 
was  just  an  ordinary  fainting  fit.  I  suppose  she  came 
down  here  really  rather  strung  up.  That  acting  night 
after  night  must  be  a  strain  upon  any  one." 

"  Can't  see  how  they  do  it,"  Lakenham  confessed. 
"  Must  be  working  on  their  nerves  all  the  time.  Queer 
thing  when  you  come  to  think  of  it,  though,  to  go  off 
in  a  faint  like  that  without  a  moment's  notice." 

Jermyn  was  looking  grave  and  worried. 

"  It  frightened  me,"  he  admitted.  "  However,  she 
seems  quite  all  right  now.  I  suppose  it  has  been  rather 
an  exciting  day  for  her,  and  just  as  we  were  leaving 
the  study  I  asked  her  a  question  which  seemed  to  upset 
her  a  little.  I  ought  to  have  left  that  sort  of  thing 
alone  —  for  to-day,  at  any  rate." 


52        THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

Lakenham  looked  thoughtfully  at  his  pipe. 

"  Yes,  I  dare  say  she's  found  it  a  bit  exciting,"  he 
remarked.  "  No  doubt  she  gets  plenty  of  offers  of 
marriage,  but  we  can  guess  the  kind  of  people  they 
come  from  as  a  rule  —  stage-struck  boys,  actors,  and 
hangers-on  at  the  theatre  —  any  one  who  comes  within 
the  glamour;  not  to  speak  of  the  adventurers,  who've 
got  an  eye  on  her  salary.  I  was  a  bit  of  a  fool  that 
way  myself  in  my  younger  days,  but  my  tendencies 
weren't  matrimonial,  fortunately.  It's  certainly  a  great 
day  for  Miss  Cluley." 

Jermyn  turned  his  head  slightly  and  regarded  his 
guest  with  level  eyebrows. 

"  I  consider  it  also,"  he  said  slowly,  "  a  great  day  for 
me.  I  have  the  utmost  respect  and  admiration  for 
Miss  Cluley,  apart  from  the  feelings  which  have 
prompted  me  to  ask  her  to  become  my  wife." 

Lakenham  knocked  the  ashes  from  his  pipe  slowly. 

"  You're  a  bit  high-flown  in  your  notions  for  me, 
Jermyn,"  he  declared.  "  I've  no  doubt  you  know  a 
good  deal  more  about  the  young  lady  than  I  do,  but  if 
I  were  to  become  engaged  to  a  young  lady  from  the 
theatres  who  has  had  as  much  admiration  as  Miss 
Cluley,  I  shouldn't  start  by  expecting  too  much.  What 
I  do  say,"  he  went  on,  his  eyes  becoming  a  shade 
brighter,  "  is  that  she's  the  most  fascinating  little  crea- 
ture I  ever  saw  in  all  my  days.  Just  the  sort  of  girl 
to  turn  a  man  inside  out.  To-night  at  dinner-time  she 
was  irresistible,  simply  irresistible." 

He  seemed  to  have  forgotten  that  his  pipe  was  al- 
ready empty.  He  went  on  tapping  it  against  the  ash- 
tray by  his  side,  with  his  eyes  fixed  upon  the  carpet. 

"  I  have  knocked  about  a  bit  in  Paris  and  Vienna,  and 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN        53 

I  know  New  York,"  he  continued,  talking  as  though 
half  to  himself,  "  but  I  never  in  the  course  of  all  my 
days  saw  a  more  charming,  a  more  fascinating  little 
object  than  she  was  to-night,  with  her  quaint  little 
graces  and  that  smile  and  her  exquisite  figure.  She  has 
all  the  Eve  tricks,  you  know,  Jermyn." 

Jermyn  stiffened  perceptibly. 

"  I  find  Miss  Cluley  exceedingly  natural,"  he  said. 
"  That,  to  my  mind,  is  one  of  her  chief  charms.  By 
the  bye,  Aynesworth,  you  are  about  so  much  in  London 
and  you  make  such  a  point  of  being  a  figure  in  the- 
atrical society,  that  I  rather  wonder  you  never  met  her." 

"  I  rather  wonder  at  it  myself,"  Lakenham  assented. 
"  If  I  had  only  known  —  but  there,  it's  too  late  now. 
You  see,  she  was  never  to  be  met  with  at  the  musical 
comedy  dances  or  that  sort  of  shows.  I  think  she 
knows  her  value,  that  young  lady." 

"  Lucille  was  talking  to  me  for  a  moment,"  Jermyn 
continued,  "  after  we  had  taken  Miss  Cluley  upstairs. 
She  seemed  to  think  that  you  were  puzzled  about  her, 
that  you  had  a  sort  of  idea  that  you  had  met  her  some- 
where before." 

Lakenham  was  silent  for  a  time. 

"  Between  ourselves,  Jermyn,"  he  admitted,  "  it's  a 
funny  thing,  but  the  idea  haunts  me.  You  know,  I 
have  knocked  about  a  lot,"  he  went  on,  confidentially. 
"  The  number  of  girls  I've  flirted  with  would  make  up 
one  of  the  bulkiest  albums  that  was  ever  bound.  Na- 
ture didn't  bless  me  with  brains  like  you,  Jermyn. 
Women  and  sport  have  been  my  hobbies.  Yes,  I  can 
see  that  little  curl  of  your  lips,  but  I  am  honest,  at  any 
rate.  It  may  seem  to  you  an  ignoble  sort  of  confes- 
sion but  it's  the  truth.  Now  somewhere  back  in  my 


54        THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

memory  there's  a  little  cell  that  I  can't  see  into,  and  in 
that  cell  there's  a  memory,  and  the  memory  has  some- 
thing to  do  with  that  —  that  fascinating  little  witch 
upstairs.  All  day  long  I've  been  struggling  with  it, 
struggling  to  remember.  The  thing's  becoming  almost 
a  torture  to  me.  And  this  is  the  funny  part  of  it, 
Jermyn,  since  we  are  on  the  subject.  She  won't  admit 
it,  she  probably  wouldn't  admit  it  even  if  you  asked 
her,  but  she  knows." 

Jermyn  walked  across  the  room  for  a  moment  and 
stood  at  the  open  window.  The  moon  now  was  almost 
overhead.  Against  the  black  fir  trees,  the  deep  blue 
of  the  sky  and  the  brilliancy  of  the  stars  seemed  ex- 
traordinarily vivid.  It  was  a  still,  soft  night,  abso- 
lutely silent  save  for  the  buzzing  of  a  huge  insect  at- 
tracted by  the  lights.  As  he  stood  there,  Jermyn  was 
conscious  of  his  first  moment  of  actual  depression. 
Was  he  really,  as  all  these  people  were  so  ready  to  hint, 
an  idealist,  a  dreamer  led  by  his  love  of  beauty  to  keep 
his  head  willfully  upraised,  the  victim  of  his  own  sensi- 
tiveness to  such  an  extent  that  he  refused  even  to  see 
flaws  in  the  things  which  he  worshiped?  After  all,  it 
was  a  very  ordinary  world  in  which  he  lived.  Was  it 
incumbent  upon  him  to  accept  its  standards?  Then  a 
moment  later  he  was  ashamed  of  himself.  From  his 
first  meeting  with  Sybil  there  had  never  been  a  single 
second  when  he  had  doubted  her.  He  had  been  in  those 
days  absolutely  without  prejudice  or  preference.  His 
intuition  had  started  him  fairly,  surely  his  instinct  was 
to  be  trusted  for  the  rest!  He  thought  of  her  simple 
life,  her  careful  avoidance  of  all  the  excesses  and  vul- 
garities into  which  she  was  so  continually  tempted;  her 
care  for  her  sister,  their  devotion  for  one  another. 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN        55 

When  he  came  back  into  the  room  he  was  himself  again. 
He  was  ashamed  of  that  one  moment  of  vacillation. 
He  knew  that  this  man  who  was  responsible  for  it  was 
himself  the  incarnation  of  the  other  things. 

"  Aynesworth,"  he  said,  "  with  reference  to  that 
memory  which  you  say  is  eluding  you,  I  should  like  you 
to  understand  something.  You  are  a  man  of  the  world ; 
I  am  not.  I  have  asked  Sybil  Cluley  to  be  my  wife,  and 
having  done  that  I  have  placed  everything  I  have  to 
offer  of  myself  and  my  life  and  my  honor,  in  her  hands. 
These  things  are  not  affected  by  circumstances.  Do 
you  follow  me  ?  " 

"  No,  I'm  hanged  if  I  do ! "  Lakenham  replied,  strik- 
ing a  match  and  lighting  his  second  pipe.  "  You've 
asked  her  to  marry  you  all  right,  but  if  you  were  to 
find  out  that  she  was  — " 

He  shrank  suddenly  back  in  his  place.  The  words 
which  he  had  been  about  to  use  carelessly  enough 
seemed  choked  in  his  throat.  The  fire  in  Jermyn's  eyes 
was  like  the  flash  of  a  rapier. 

"  Forgive  me,"  Jermyn  interrupted,  quietly.  "  You 
had  better  let  me  finish.  You  say  yourself  that  I  am  a 
crank.  Perhaps  in  worldly  things  I  am  to  some  extent. 
Yet  I  would  like  you  to  understand  this.  I  have  made 
up  my  mind  to  live  my  life  according  to  my  own  ideas, 
and  not  according  to  the  accepted  ideas  of  the  world. 
For  that  reason  I  began  my  little  speech  to  you.  For 
that  reason  it  will  be  better  for  me  to  conclude  it 
before  you  say  anything  which  might  make  it  impos- 
sible for  me  to  receive  you  any  longer  under  my  roof. 
If  anything  should  come  to  you  so  that  that  cell  in 
your  memory  was  no  longer  obscured,  I  want  you  to 
understand  this.  I  decline  to  hear  anything  which  you 


56       THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN 

may  remember  concerning  Miss  Cluley.  I  decline  to 
hear  anything  whatever  about  her  except  from  her  own 
lips,  and  from  her  own  lips  I  have  heard  all  that  I 
choose  to  know.  Is  that  clear?  " 

Lakenham,  whose  pipe  was  now  going  to  his  satis- 
faction, nodded  with  a  subdued  air  of  compassion. 

"  Yes,  that's  all  right,  Jermyn,"  he  declared.  "  Lord 
love  you,  we're  all  made  differently,  aren't  we?  The 
only  trouble  is  that  I  seem  to  be  made  to  fit  into  this 
world,  but  the  Lord  knows  where  you'd  find  one  to  suit 
your  notions ! " 

Jermyn  smiled  as  he  rose  to  his  feet  and  threw  away 
the  end  of  his  cigarette. 

"  My  dear  fellow,"  he  said,  "  half  the  people  you 
pass  by  in  the  world  are  living  somewhere  in  a  little 
garden,  or  a  wilderness,  perhaps,  of  their  own  making. 
We  can  see  no  more  than  they  care  to  show  us  of  their 
lives.  We  may  think  that  they  are  pressing  on  side 
by  side  with  you  or  with  me.  They  aren't  really.  We 
needn't,  you  know,  unless  we  like.  Good  night!  I'll 
leave  you  to  finish  your  pipe." 

"  Good  night,  old  fellow,"  Lakenham  answered,  with 
a  sigh.  "  God  bless  my  soul !  "  he  added  to  himself, 
as  the  door  closed. 

Jermyn  found  Lucille  with  her  foot  upon  the  stairs, 
looking  doubtfully  at  the  clock. 

"  Of  course,  these  hours  of  yours,  my  dear  host," 
she  protested,  "  are  too  awful !  " 

"  What  on  earth  are  you  grumbling  at  ?  "  Jermyn 
replied,  smiling.  "  It's  midnight  and  you've  had  four 
rubbers  of  bridge." 

He  had  paused  by  her  side.  She  moved  a  little 
nearer  to  him,  as  though  by  accident.  Her  eyes  and 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN        57 

lips  were  very  close  to  his.  In  his  present  state  he  was, 
of  course,  almost  hopeless,  but  she  was  a  past  mistress 
in  the  small  subtleties  of  her  sex  and  she  had  great  faith 
in  propinquity.  She  knew,  also,  that  she  was  beau- 
tiful. 

''  You  dear,  primitive  person,"  she  whispered.  "  I 
hate  to  go  to  bed  before  three  or  four  o'clock,  and  the 
bridge  was  too  awful.  Your  doctor  was  the  only  man 
who  could  play  a  card,  and  he  didn't  know  auction. 
Really,  I  think  I  am  the  most  self-denying  person  in 
the  world  to  do  this  for  you  —  for  many  reasons." 

Jermyn  was  a  trifle  uncomfortable  without  knowing 
why. 

"  It  was  very  nice  of  you  to  come,  Lucille,"  he  said. 
"  Still,  you  proposed  it  yourself,  didn't  you,  and  some- 
how or  other  I  always  seem  to  rely  upon  you  if  I  want 
any  one  to  do  me  a  kindness." 

She  looked  at  him  with  a  little  petulant  frown. 

"  My  dear  boy,"  she  exclaimed,  "  you  do  ask  such 
strange  kindnesses.  Now  something  elderly,  with  a  cat 
and  a  dead  husband  and  cameo  ornaments,  would  have 
done  just  as  well  as  I." 

"  But  I  don't  know  anything  of  that  sort,"  he  ob- 
jected. "  Besides,  you  wanted  to  come  for  a  few 
days." 

"  I  wanted  to  come,  it  is  true,"  she  admitted,  "  but 
not  exactly  under  these  conditions.  Harrod's  or 
Whiteley's  would  have  supplied  exactly  what  you 
wanted.  Really,  I  feel  that  I  am  wasted,  besides  being 
quite  unnecessary,  I  am  sure.  Your  beautiful  Miss 
Cluley  is  the  soul  of  propriety,  isn't  she,  and  you 
always  say  that  your  life  is  directed  without  any  re- 
gard to  other  people's  opinions." 


58        THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN 

"  There  are  certain  conventions,"  he  replied,  "  which 
one  owes  it  to  one's  future  wife  to  observe." 

She  yawned. 

"  Every  now  and  then,  Jermyn,"  she  declared,  "  you 
make  me  wonder  why  you  are  not  a  worse  prig  than 
you  are.  In  any  case  it's  too  late  for  a  discussion  of 
this  sort.  If  you  were  really  grateful,  really  conscious 
of  your  responsibilities  as  my  host,  you  would  do  your 
best  to  entertain  me  for  an  hour  —  sit  with  me  in  the 
garden,  perhaps,  and  tell  me  about  your  new  play.  .  .  . 
No?  Well,  then,  I  shall  go  in  and  make  poor  Aynes- 
worth  entertain  me  for  a  few  minutes.  I  can't  think 
of  a  more  satisfactory  way  of  getting  sleepy  than  to 
listen  to  him  talk." 

"  You'll  find  him  in  the  smoking-room  in  a  typical 
attitude,"  Jermyn  remarked,  smiling.  "  Good  night, 
Lucille!" 

He  raised  her  hand  to  his  lips  —  their  old  form  of 
salute.  The  fingers  were  very  cold  and  she  leaned  just 
a  little  towards  him. 

"  There  was  a  time  — "  she  whispered. 

He  laughed. 

"  Don't  flirt  with  me,  please,  Lucille,"  he  begged, 
moving  up  the  stairs.  "  I  am  in  far  too  susceptible 
a  frame  of  mind." 

She  stood  with  one  foot  upon  the  bottom  stair,  her 
hand  upon  the  banisters,  watching  him  ascend.  He 
passed  out  of  sight  without  turning  his  head.  Then 
very  slowly  she  crossed  the  hall  once  more  and  entered 
the  smoking-room. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

Lakenham  had  discovered  a  copy  of  the  Sporting 
Times,  which  he  threw  down  at  once,  however,  at 
Lucille's  entrance. 

"  Good  girl !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  Come  and  restore  my 
drooping  spirits.  I  am  feeling  like  a  naughty  boy  left 
here  all  alone.  Dear  Jermyn  doesn't  approve  of  me. 
He's  given  me  a  little  moral  lecture  and  gone  off  to 
bed." 

"  I  met  him  on  the  stairs,"  Lucille  remarked.  "  He 
treated  me  in  very  much  the  same  fashion." 

"  Fellow  won't  listen  to  reason,"  Lakenham  grumbled. 
"  I  did  no  more  than  remind  him  that  this  fascinating 
little  mortal  whom  he's  fallen  in  love  with  belongs  to 
the  world  of  easier  ways  than  his.  He  went  and  looked 
at  the  stars  for  about  five  minutes  and  came  back  like 
an  archbishop." 

"  The  trouble  of  it  is,"  Lucille  declared,  taking  the 
chair  which  Jermyn  had  vacated  and  helping  herself 
to  a  cigarette  from  the  gold  case  which  hung  from  her 
chatelaine ;  "  the  trouble  of  it  is  that  Jermyn  au  fond 
is  the  most  pig-headed  individual  that  ever  breathed. 
He  is  up  in  the  clouds  now.  Heavens,  how  he  irri- 
tates me ! " 

She  seldom  studied  appearances  before  Lakenham. 
Her  face  seemed  to  have  grown  harder  and  colder.  She 
was  smoking  quickly,  frowning  all  the  time. 


60        THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

"  Can't  think  how  it  is  that  the  fellow  attracts  you 
at  all,"  he  said  thoughtfully. 

"  Neither  can  I,  and  yet  he  does,"  she  replied.  "  No 
wonder  you  see  it.  Every  one  can  see  it  except  Jermyn 
himself.  Here  have  I  come  all  the  way  from  Dinard 
to  try  and  get  a  few  days  alone  with  him  down  here, 
and  I  find  myself  compelled  to  sit  at  the  head  of  his 
table  and  play  propriety  for  his  little  actress.  Why, 
in  Heaven's  name,  doesn't  he  behave  like  an  ordinary 
mortal  and  keep  her  where  she  belongs !  Upon  my 
word,  if  only  I  had  the  heart  to  laugh,  it's  the  most  ab- 
surd situation  that  any  one  could  possibly  devise ! " 

"  No  doing  anything  with  Jermyn,"  Lakenham  said, 
decidedly.  "  He's  got  it  in  the  neck.  Fairly  bowled 
over.  You  wouldn't  believe  the  rot  he  talked  to  me 
just  now,  after  he'd  been  out  moon-gazing.  I  don't 
know  what  it  all  meant  except  that  he'd  marry  the 
girl  even  if  she  turned  out  one  of  the  worst." 

"  He  thinks  he  would,"  Lucille  remarked,  "  but  he 
wouldn't  really,  you  know.  The  trouble  of  it  is  that 
the  girl  herself  has  been  so  clever.  Apart  from  that 
elusive  memory  of  yours,  which  I  am  beginning  to  hate, 
I  suppose  you  never  heard  anything  at  the  club  or 
anywhere  about  her?  " 

"  Not  a  single  word,"  Lakenham  declared. 

"  And  the  memory  ?  " 

"  Blank  as  ever,"  he  answered  gloomily. 

Lucille  knocked  the  ash  from  her  cigarette. 

"  Aynesworth,"  she  said,  turning  a  little  towards 
him,  "  I  am  used  to  having  my  own  way  in  life.  I 
want  to  upset  this  marriage." 

"  So  do  I,"  he  replied,  bluntly. 

She  raised  her  eyebrows. 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN        61 

"You?     But  why?     Where  do  you  come  in?" 

He  smoked  in  stolid  silence  for  several  moments. 
Again  that  rather  curious  light  shone  in  his  dull  eyes. 

"  Never  mind,"  he  muttered  shortly.  "  It  isn't  nec- 
essary to  tell  you.  I  want  to  upset  it.  I  would  if  I 
could." 

She  leaned  back  in  her  chair  and  laughed  softly. 

"  After  all,"  she  murmured,  "  I  am  glad  I  came. 
The  situation  is  improving.  I  am  no  longer  in  the 
limelight  as  the  central  fool.  Oh,  my  dear  Aynesworth, 
Heaven  bless  you  for  this  !  " 

He  looked  at  her  suspiciously. 

"  Don't  understand  what  you're  getting  at,"  he  de- 
clared. 

"  You  wouldn't,"  she  answered,  wiping  her  eyes. 
"  I'll  ask  you  no  questions.  If  I  guess,  that  must  be 
proof  of  my  wonderful  woman's  sagacity.  Now  about 
that  little  illusion  of  yours.  There  is  something  which 
it  is  just  possible  might  help." 

"  What  is  it?  "  he  asked  eagerly. 

"  You  know  that  an  hour  or  so  ago  Sybil  Cluley 
fainted  at  the  door  of  Jermyn's  study  as  they  were 
coming  away?  " 

"  Yes,  I  know  that,"  he  admitted.  "  I  never  saw  a 
fellow  so  scared  in  my  life  as  poor  old  Jermyn  was." 

"  Girls  don't  faint  for  nothing,  as  a  rule,"  Lucille 
continued.  "  While  you  two  were  safe  in  here,  I  have 
been  spending  a  few  minutes  in  the  study." 

"Find  anything?" 

"  There  was  an  illustrated  paper  face  downwards 
upon  the  writing-table,"  Lucille  told  him.  "  It  was 
open  at  a  photograph  of  Sybil  Cluley,  but  part  of  the 
next  page,  which  contained  an  interview  and  an  account 


62        THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

of  her  life,  was  torn  out.  It  had  evidently  been  will- 
fully destroyed." 

Lord  Lakenham  sat  quite  still,  blinking  quickly. 

"Well?" 

"  It  occurred  to  me,"  Lucille  went  on  softly,  "  that 
in  that  interview  you  might  find  something  which  would 
give  you  an  idea,  which  would  perhaps  help  that  little 
memory  of  yours  to  life.  It  seems  all  the  more  prob- 
able, doesn't  it,  when  you  consider  that  some  one  — 
Sybil  Cluley  herself,  of  course  —  during  the  time  that 
they  were  in  the  study  together,  had  deliberately  torn 
out  that  page." 

"  By  Jove ! "  Lakenham  said  slowly,  sitting  up  in 
his  chair.  "  Are  there  any  more  illustrated  papers  in 
the  house?  " 

"  There  is  another  copy  of  the  same  one  in  the 
drawing-room,"  she  answered.  "  I  was  on  my  way 
to  get  it  when  I  met  Jermyn  on  the  stairs.  Ring  the 
bell." 

Lakenham  sprang  up  with  unusual  alacrity  and  did 
as  he  was  bidden. 

"  Bring  me  some  seltzer  if  you  have  any,"  he  or- 
dered the  servant. 

"  And  will  you  bring  me  the  Tatler  from  the  draw- 
ing-room," Lucille  added,  "  and  any  other  illustrated 
papers  you  can  find?  " 

"  Very  good,  madame,"  the  man  replied. 

Lakenham  remained  standing.  The  hand  which  held 
his  pipe  shook  a  little.  Lucille  was  watching  him 
curiously. 

"  I  don't  suppose  there's  anything  in  it,"  he  said, 
half  to  himself.  "  She  wouldn't  let  them  put  anything 
in  the  papers  that  she  wanted  kept  dark.  Still,  it's 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN       63 

an  idea.  .  .  .  Why  the  dickens  doesn't  the  fellow  come 
back!" 

Lucille  laughed  at  him  from  the  depths  of  her  chair. 
Her  eyes  were  fixed  upon  his  face.  She  saw  the  slight 
twitching  at  the  corners  of  his  mouth,  the  movement  of 
his  hands. 

"  Really,"  she  murmured,  "  this  new  development  al- 
most reconciles  me  to  my  share  in  the  comedy ! " 

The  man  returned  presently,  bearing  three  illustrated 
papers  upon  a  salver.  As  soon  as  he  had  left  the  room 
they  carried  them  to  a  side  table.  Lakenham  turned 
over  the  pages  of  the  first  with  clumsy  fingers.  They 
reached  the  picture  of  Sybil.  He  looked  at  it  for  a 
moment  with  a  curiously  intent  expression.  Then  he 
turned  the  page  greedily  over.  Lucille  gave  a  little 
cry. 

"  The  page  is  missing ! "  she  exclaimed.  "  It  has 
been  cut  out !  " 

"  It's  gone,  right  enough,"  he  echoed,  hoarsely. 

"  It's  the  same  page  that  was  missing  from  the 
Tatler,  the  one  I  left  in  the  study !  "  she  cried.  "  I 
was  right,  then.  Look  at  the  others  quickly." 

Lakenham  spread  them  out  upon  the  table.  His 
thick  fingers  were  trembling.  The  result  was  as  they 
had  expected.  In  each  case  the  interview  was  missing. 
Lucille  smiled  triumphantly.  Her  eyes  were  suddenly 
ablaze. 

"  After  all,"  she  murmured,  "  I  think,  my  dear 
Aynesworth,  that  we  shall  be  able  to  call  that  little 
memory  of  yours  to  life ! " 


CHAPTER  IX 

Six  thoroughly  exhausted  people  lay  stretched  upon 
the  lawn  in  various  more  or  less  picturesque  attitudes. 
Mary,  with  two  boys  at  her  feet,  was  fanning  herself 
with  a  large  panama  hat  and  holding  a  little  court  of 
her  own. 

"  I  say,  Miss  Mary,"  one  of  the  boys  declared, 
"  those  are  stunning  leg  breaks  of  yours  —  best  I  ever 
stood  up  to  from  a  girl.  Where  did  you  learn  to  bowl 
them?" 

"  At  school,  I  suppose,  but  they  came  quite  naturally 
to  me,"  Mary  answered,  modestly.  "  But  what's  the 
good?  I  can't  get  him  out." 

She  moved  her  head  towards  the  spot  where  Jermyn 
was  lying  at  his  ease  by  Sybil's  side.  The  boy  who 
had  spoken  first  laughed. 

"  Why,  Sir  Jermyn's  a  county  cricketer ! "  he  ex- 
claimed in  an  awed  tone.  "  He  made  a  hundred  against 
Kent  only  the  week  before  last.  Get  him  out,  indeed! 
Why,  Fielder  and  Carr  and  all  of  them  were  trying 
as  hard  as  they  could  for  two  hours  and  a  quarter, 
and  he  simply  did  what  he  liked  with  them." 

"  Which  reminds  me,"  Jermyn  remarked,  lifting  his 
head  a  few  inches,  "  when  am  I  going  to  get  the  rest 
of  my  innings  ?  " 

"  Whenever,"  Mary  replied,  deliberately,  "  you  are 
ready  to  bat  with  one  hand  and  left-handed.  Unless 


THE   WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN       65 

you  do  that  I  shall  not  bowl  at  you  again.  It  puts 
me  off  worse  to  be  placed  than  to  be  knocked  about." 

Jermyn  sighed. 

"  It  seems  a  little  unfair,"  he  grumbled.  "  All 
through  this  afternoon  I  have  had  to  watch  my  most 
cunning  deliveries  treated  entirely  without  respect  by 
you,  young  lady,  and  now,  when  my  time  for  revenge 
has  come  — " 

"  I  only  made  fifteen  and  you  were  in  for  a  quarter 
of  an  hour,"  Mary  interrupted.  "  Your  side  won,  any- 
way." 

Jermyn  was  looking  down  the  avenue.  Far  away 
in  the  distance  was  a  little  cloud  of  dust. 

"What  on  earth  is  that?"  he  exclaimed.  "It 
doesn't  look  large  enough  for  a  car." 

"  Motor  bicycle,"  one  of  the  boys  replied.  "  Isn't 
he  ripping  along,  too !  " 

Jermyn  frowned  slightly. 

"  I  hate  the  sight  of  the  things,"  he  declared,  "  and 
of  the  fellows  who  ride  them.  They  all  look  as  though 
they  had  escaped  from  some  other  planet." 

Lakenham  had  suddenly  risen  from  his  prone  position 
upon  the  grass,  and  was  sitting  upright.  Exercise 
seemed  scarcely  to  have  agreed  with  him.  The  flush 
upon  his  cheeks  was  almost  purple  and  his  forehead 
was  still  bathed  in  perspiration. 

"  It's  my  man,"  he  said.  "  Sorry  his  hobby  offends 
your  sesthetic  taste,  Jermyn,  but  it's  the  fellow's  one 
weakness.  He  will  bring  that  wretched  machine  along 
wherever  he  goes.  Comes  in  useful  sometimes,  though. 
He's  been  in  to  Norwich  for  me  to-day." 

"  To  Norwich? "  Jermyn  repeated.  "  What  on 
earth  did  you  want  to  send  him  there  for  ?  " 


66        THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

Lakenham  did  not  at  once  reply.  With  some  effort 
he  struggled  to  his  feet  and  brushed  the  fir  needles 
from  his  white  flannel  clothes.  He  was  smiling  very 
slightly  to  himself,  but  it  was  a  smile  which  did  not 
improve  his  appearance.  His  eyes  seemed  to  have 
grown  smaller,  to  have  receded  further  into  his  head. 
The  sensual  curve  of  his  lips  had  become  a  cruel  one. 
Sybil,  who  happened  to  glance  across  at  him  at  that 
moment,  shivered.  Was  it  her  fancy,  she  wondered, 
or  was  there  really  anything  significant  in  the  fact 
that  he  looked  steadily  at  her  before  he  replied? 

"  Something  I  wanted  and  he  offered  to  fetch  for 
me.  He  thinks  nothing  of  thirty  or  forty  miles  on 
that  thing.  I'll  go  in  and  have  a  word  with  him." 

"  Help  me  up  first,  Aynesworth,"  Lucille  ordered. 
"  I,  too,  am  going  into  the  house.  Something  is  com- 
ing. I  don't  know  what  it  is  but  it  looks  disagree- 
able." 

Lucille  had  not  been  playing  cricket.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  simplicity  of  her  white  lace  gown  and  her  large 
picture  hat,  she  seemed  somehow,  by  the  perfection  of 
her  toilette,  its  slightly  foreign  note,  perhaps,  to  be 
in  some  degree  removed  from  any  kinship  with  the 
others.  She  looked  as  though  she  had  stepped  out  of 
some  wonderful  French  picture  of  modern  life ;  as 
though  she  belonged,  indeed,  to  a  more  artificial  world 
whose  standards  of  beauty  were  more  precise.  Mary 
was  watching  her  curiously. 

"  Isn't  she  beautiful ! "  she  whispered  to  one  of  the 
boys. 

"  Ripping !  "  the  boy  agreed.  "  I  think  your  sister's 
better-looking,  though.  Besides,  she  can  run  about  al- 
most as  well  as  you  can,  and  she  can  throw  quite  de- 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN        67 

cently.  I  don't  think  the  Duchess  could  run  far  in 
those  clothes." 

Mary  rewarded  him  with  a  glance. 

"  There  isn't  anybody  quite  like  Sybil,"  she  admit- 
ted. "  The  Duchess,  though,  looks  so  much  like  a  pic- 
ture." 

Lucille  pointed  with  the  tip  of  her  parasol  to  the 
landscape. 

"  What  is  this  that  is  coming  upon  us,  Jermyn  ?  " 
she  asked.  "  I  am  beginning  to  shiver  already." 

A  faint  white  mist  had  come  rolling  up  across  the 
park  and  was  stretched  like  a  semi-transparent  veil 
across  the  blue  sky.  The  sun,  which  had  been  blazing 
down  upon  them  only  a  few  minutes  ago,  was  now  half 
obscured,  a  great  crimson  ball  whose  fierce  heat  was 
suddenly  tempered. 

"  It's  just  a  North  Sea  mist,"  Jermyn  told  her. 
"  It  won't  last.  We  get  them  now  and  then  in  the 
middle  of  summer." 

"I  do  not  find  it  pleasant,"  Lucille  decided.  "I 
shall  go  indoors." 

She  moved  slowly  across  the  lawn  towards  the  open 
door  through  which  Lakenham  had  already  vanished. 
Sybil,  whose  eyes  followed  her  until  she  had  disap- 
peared, suddenly  shivered.  Jermyn,  who  was  secretly 
holding  her  hand,  realized  that  it  had  grown  colder. 
He  sprang  to  his  feet. 

"  You  are  chilly  1 "  he  exclaimed.  "  Shall  we  go 
in?" 

"  It  was  only  for  a  moment,"  she  assured  him. 
"  This  mist  looked  so  weird  coming  in  the  middle  of 
a  hot  afternoon.  Do  you  see  how  strangely  it  seems 
to  hang  about  the  trees  ?  " 


68        THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

"  It  will  have  gone  in  a  few  minutes,"  he  declared, 
looking  at  her  a  little  anxiously.  "  Shall  we  go  into 
the  library?  Or  would  you  like  to  try  the  conserva- 
tories? You'll  find  it  hot  enough  there." 

She  was  looking  once  more  at  the  open  door,  through 
which  first  Lord  Lakenham  and  now  Lucille  had  passed. 
She  shook  her  head  slowly. 

"  No,"  she  murmured,  "  let  us  stay  here.  I  like  to 
be  out  of  doors,  only  I  think  that  I  should  like  to  walk 
for  a  minute.  I  am  stiff." 

Jermyn  pulled  her  to  her  feet.  The  brilliant  color 
of  a  few  minutes  ago  had  certainly  left  her  cheeks. 
She  looked  very  pale  and  very  slight  in  her  white  ilanncl 
dress  and  shirt  with  the  low  collar. 

"  What  a  child  you  are ! "  he  laughed,  as  he  drew 
her  arm  through  his.  "  Are  you  always  so  susceptible 
to  impressions  ?  " 

She  drew  quite  close  to  him.  She  pressed  his  arm 
as  though  the  touch  of  it  gave  her  confidence. 

"  I  am  not  always  so  queer,"  she  whispered  softly, 
"  only  somehow  or  other  these  last  few  hours  seem  too 
wonderful.  I  can't  realize  —  I  try  and  I  try  but  it 
seems  almost  impossible.  I  am  afraid,"  she  went  on, 
raising  her  head  slowly  and  looking  at  him ;  "  I  am 
afraid  of  having  them  snatched  away.  I  seem  to  be 
searching  everywhere  for  omens.  The  mist  almost 
frightened  me.  It  was  such  a  sudden  change  —  one 
moment  the  sunshine,  the  blue  sky,  the  butterflies,  the 
humming  of  bees,  and  another  moment  nothing  —  just 
a  cold,  gray  mist.  It  frightened  me.  And  —  and 
Lord  Lakenham  —  why  did  he  stare  at  me  like  that  ?  " 

Jermyn  looked  at  her  as  one  might  look  at  an  im- 
aginative child. 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN       69 

"  I  am  sorry  that  you  dislike  Aynes worth  so  much," 
he  said.  "  It  is  shocking  bad  luck  that  he  happened 
to  be  here  at  all." 

"  He  isn't  staying  —  much  longer,  is  he  ?  " 

"  He  is  off  to-morrow,  I  believe,"  Jermyn  replied. 
"  To  tell  you  the  honest  truth,"  he  added,  "  I  am  rather 
glad  you  dislike  him,  for  the  way  he  looks  at  you  some- 
times makes  me  feel  inclined  to  kick  him." 

She   shuddered. 

"  I  used  to  think  that  I  could  never  really  hate  any- 
body," she  continued,  "  but  I  do  hate  Lord  Lakenham. 
He  seems  to  me  like  some  one  who  ought  not  to  be 
alive.  If  I  were  to  hear  to-morrow  that  he  was  dead, 
I  should  be  glad  —  glad !  " 

"  My  dear  Sybil !  " 

"  I  cannot  help  it ! "  she  went  on,  with  a  little  note 
of  passion  throbbing  in  her  tone.  "  I  have  that  feel- 
ing about  him.  I  never  thought  that  I  was  cruel,  I 
never  felt  cruel  before,  but  I  wish  he  were  dead!  I 
should  be  glad  if  he  were  dead!  Tell  me  why  you 
are  looking  like  that,  Jermyn?  Tell  me  exactly  what 
you  are  thinking?  " 

"  Shall  I?  " 

"  You  simply  must,"  she  insisted. 

"  I  was  wondering,"  he  told  her,  "  if  Lakenham  were 
in  any  way  connected  with  that  mysterious  part  of  your 
biography  which  it  so  terrified  you  to  see  in  the 
Tatler?  " 

She  seemed  suddenly  to  become  once  more  like  a  crea- 
ture of  stone.  Her  whisper  scarcely  reached  his  ears. 

"You  are  wondering  that?" 

"  Doesn't  it  seem  reasonable  ?  "  he  asked.  "  Your 
dislike  of  him  is  a  little  extreme,  isn't  it?  You  must 


70        THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

have  met  many  men  of  his  type.  You  have  not  wished 
them  all  dead." 

She  drew  her  arm  quietly  away  from  his. 

**  You  are  right,"  she  said  slowly.  "  Lord  Laken- 
ham  is  connected  with  what  you  call  that  mysterious 
part  of  my  biography.  Take  me  somewhere,  Jermyn, 
where  we  can  be  really  alone,  and  I'll  tell  you  —  I'll 
tell  you  although  I  don't  think  that  the  world  will  ever 
be  quite  the  same  place  to  me  again." 

He  shook  his  head,  looking  at  her  all  the  time  with 
a  smile  upon  his  lips  and  a  look  in  his  eyes  which  are 
the  things  a  woman  craves  for  more  than  anything 
in  the  world  from  the  man  she  loves. 

"  You  baby !  "  he  murmured.  "  I  haven't  the  least 
curiosity.  It  wouldn't  interest  me  in  the  slightest. 
Why  do  you  put  yourself  through  such  a  purgatory 
of  imaginings?  Nothing  that  you  could  say  or  could 
tell  me  would  make  the  slightest  difference.  Nothing 
can  alter  what  you  are,  what  I  know  that  you  are. 
You  see,  I  am  conceited  enough  to  believe  absolutely 
in  myself  as  well  as  in  you.  Let  us  steal  off  into  the 
library  and  have  tea  there  alone.  All  these  young  peo- 
ple will  do  very  well  without  us.  We  have  heaps  of 
plans  to  make  yet." 

They  had  strolled  across  the  lawn  on  to  one  of  the 
garden  paths.  She  looked  at  him  for  a  moment  with 
an  eagerness  which  had  in  it  something  almost  fierce. 
Then  she  broke  into  a  little  peal  of  laughter  —  real, 
natural,  delightful  laughter.  She  was  once  more  her- 
self ;  her  eyes  besought  him,  tantalized  him. 

"  If  only  they  couldn't  see  us,"  she  whispered,  "  and 
you  weren't  so  tall !  " 

He  took  a  skillful  turn  to  the  left. 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN        71 

"  These  laurel  bushes,"  he  assured  her,  "  are  as  dense 
as  a  brick  wall,  and  as  regards  my  height — " 

Her  arms  were  around  his  neck,  holding  him  tighter 
and  tighter.  He  was  amazed  at  their  strength. 

"  You  won't  let  me  go  —  you  won't  ever  let  me  go  ?  " 
she  pleaded. 

He  took  her  bodily  into  his  arms. 

"  Dear,"  he  answered,  "  there  isn't  anything  in  this 
world  or  any  other  world  that  shall  take  you  out  of  my 
lif  e  or  out  of  my  heart !  " 

The  mist  passed.  Once  more  the  sunshine  streamed 
down  upon  them.  As  they  crossed  the  lawn,  half  an 
hour  later,  they  met  Lucille  slowly  emerging  from  the 
house.  She  stood  looking  at  them  with  the  shadow 
of  a  strange  smile  upon  her  lips. 

"  So  the  grayness  has  all  passed  away,"  she  re- 
marked, "  and  we  are  going  to  have  tea  out  here  after 
all.  What  can  have  happened  to  Aynesworth,  I  wonder  ? 
He  looks  like  a  big  boy  chuckling  over  some  huge  joke." 

Lakenham  was  certainly  looking  immensely  pleased 
with  himself.  He  was  standing  upon  the  lawn  with  a 
whisky-and-soda  in  one  hand  and  a  piece  of  bread  and 
butter  in  the  other.  His  legs  were  a  little  apart.  He 
was  looking  over  towards  Jermyn  and  Sybil  with  the 
satisfied  smile  of  a  man  who  has  accomplished  some- 
thing worth  doing. 

"  You  look,"  Jermyn  said,  "  as  though  you  had  re- 
ceived good  news." 

Lakenham  threw  back  his  head  and  a  moment  later 
set  down  his  empty  tumbler. 

"  I  have,"  he  replied, — "  the  best !  Miss  Cluley, 
you've  lost  all  your  color.  Jermyn  makes  you  do  too 
much." 


72        THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

"  I  am  afraid  that  the  cricket  was  a  little  exhaust- 
ing," Jermyn  admitted.  "  After  tea  I  think  we'll  let 
those  youngsters  look  after  themselves." 

"  We  want  you  to  play  tennis,"  Mary  begged, — 
"  you  and  I  against  the  two  boys.  Lord  Lakenham 
says  you  are  awfully  good.  Do  play!  These  boys 
think  they  have  a  chance  and  I'd  love  to  beat  them. 
Arnold  is  rather  a  dear  but  he  is  so  conceited.  We  will 
beat  them,  won't  we?  " 

Jermyn  glanced  at  Sybil. 

"  Do  play,"  she  murmured.  "  I  shall  love  to  look 
on." 

"  We  will  all  look  on,"  Lakenham  decided.  "  Per- 
haps my  chance  will  come  then  to  talk  for  a  little  time 
with  Miss  Cluley.  I  consider  that  she  has  been  most 
shamelessly  monopolized  ever  since  she  arrived  here." 

Sybil  sighed. 

"  You  must  remember,  all  of  you,"  she  replied,  "  that 
Sir  Jermyn  is  my  dramatist.  Naturally  he  has  a  great 
deal  to  say  to  me." 

Lakenham  smiled  as  he  drew  out  his  cigarette  case 
from  his  pocket. 

"  I,  too,"  he  declared,  looking  at  her  boldly,  "  can 
find  something  to  say  to  you,  Miss  Cluley.  I  am  only 
longing  for  the  opportunity." 

There  was  a  moment's  silence.  Jermyn,  who  had 
gone  away  to  fetch  his  racquet,  came  towards  them, 
frowning  slightly.  He  had  somehow  the  feeling  that 
he  was  deserting  Sybil. 

"  Are  you  sure  that  you  wouldn't  rather  come  for  a 
walk  or  do  something?  "  he  asked  her,  doubtfully. 

She  smiled  back  at  him  reassuringly. 

"  No,  I  am  going  to  sit  under  the  trees  here  and 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN        73 

watch,"  she  insisted.  "  Besides,  Lord  Lakenham  has 
something  to  say  to  me.  He  has  made  so  many  charm- 
ing speeches  that  I  am  really  curious  to  find  out  how 
long  he  will  be  able  to  keep  it  up ! " 


CHAPTER  X 

Lucille,  Sybil  and  Lakenham  sat  in  deep  wicker  chairs 
in  a  shady  corner  of  the  lawn,  watching  the  tennis. 
Before  the  first  game  was  over,  however,  Lucille,  with 
a  little  sigh  of  regret,  rose  gracefully  to  her  feet. 

"  It  does  not  amuse  me  to  watch  those  violent  pas- 
times," she  confessed.  "  Lord  Lakenham  has  been  dy- 
ing to  talk  to  you  all  day,  Miss  Cluley.  He  shall 
have  his  opportunity.  I  will  write  some  necessary  let- 
ters and  earn  his  undying  gratitude.  Only,  accept  a 
word  of  advice  from  me.  Believe  nothing  that  he  says. 
I  consider  him  to  be  the  most  shameless  person  I  have 
met  with  in  the  whole  course  of  my  experience." 

Sybil's  eyes  followed  her  almost  despairingly  as  she 
moved  slowly  towards  the  house.  Lakenham  changed 
at  once  into  her  vacant  chair.  Jermyn,  from  his  place 
upon  the  courts,  saw  what  had  happened  and  promptly 
served  two  faults. 

"  Lucille  will  chaff  one  all  the  time,"  Lakenham  re- 
marked. "Bit  useful  with  her  tongue,  too,  isn't  she? 
All  the  same,  I  have  been  rather  anxious  to  have  a  lit- 
tle chat  with  you,  Miss  Cluley." 

"Really?" 

"  You  know,"  he  went  on,  "  I  wish  you  wouldn't  be- 
have as  though  I  wanted  to  eat  you  up,  or  something 
of  that  sort.  I  am  of  a  forgiving  nature.  I  harbor 
no  animosity  and  I  bear  no  grudges." 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN        75 

She  knew  then  that  he  remembered.  Everything  for 
a  moment  seemed  to  recede  from  her.  The  voices  of 
the  tennis  players  seemed  to  come  from  some  far-off 
world.  The  breeze  in  the  trees,  the  perfume  of  the 
burnt  cedars,  the  fragrance  of  the  roses,  always  in- 
sistent, surely  belonged  to  one  of  those  halcyon,  half- 
forgotten  days !  This  was  another  world  in  which  she 
was  living  now  —  the  world  of  her  misery ! 

"  You  see,  my  memory  isn't  quite  so  rotten  as  you 
must  have  thought  it  was,"  Lakenham  continued.  "  I 
haven't  forgotten  all  about  the  Gayety  Theatre  at 
Blackpool  and  Miss  May  Marvis." 

She  was  trembling.  Her  eyes,  which  sought  his 
now,  were  full  of  tears. 

"  The  money,"  she  faltered.  "  I  ought  to  have  sent 
you  the  money  back.  Oh !  I  have  thought  of  it  a  hun- 
dred times  but  I  was  afraid  —  I  was  afraid  that  you 
might  trace  me  through  it.  It  was  wicked  of  me !  " 

He  laughed  loudly,  almost  boisterously. 

"  You  silly  child !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  What  do  you 
suppose  that  few  pounds  meant  to  me?  You  can't 
imagine  I  ever  intended  you  to  repay  it?  It  was  a  gift, 
of  course.  It  was  your  broken  promise  that  I  minded." 

She  looked  at  him  like  a  wounded  animal.  Nothing 
that  he  could  possibly  have  said  could  have  hurt  so 
much. 

"  I  was  mad !  "  she  murmured.  "  We  were  both  half 
starved;  the  company  had  come  to  grief;  we  hadn't 
even  the  money  for  our  tickets  to  London,  and  they 
told  me  that  Mary  wouldn't  live  unless  I  could  take 
her  to  a  nursing  home  where  she  was  properly  looked 
after.  But  I  was  mad  —  I  know  it !  I  couldn't  — 
I  shouldn't  really  ever  have  kept  my  word." 


76        THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

"  You  took  the  money,"  he  reminded  her,  "  and  you 
took  it  upon  that  understanding." 

A  note  of  passion  crept  into  her  tone. 

"  I  had  to  have  it !  "  she  declared.  "  Call  it  thiev- 
ing, if  you  like.  Charge  me  with  theft  —  I'll  plead 
guilty.  I  did  steal  the  money.  I  stole  it  for  her. 
Look  at  her  now.  Do  you  see  how  healthy  she  is? 
Wasn't  it  worth  it?  " 

"  I  tell  you  that  I  do  not  care,"  he  persisted,  "  to 
think  of  the  money.  I  think  rather  of  your  promise 
—  the  promise  which  still  remains." 

She  sat  quite  still,  with  closed  eyes. 

"  I  wish,"  he  went  on,  "  you  wouldn't  take  it  for 
granted  that  I  was  an  enemy." 

"  If  you  are  not  an  enemy,"  she  replied  swiftly, 
*'  why  do  you  mention  it  at  all  ?  Why  could  you  not 
have  pretended  that  you  did  not  recognize  me,  and 
have  gone  away?  What  does  it  matter  to  you?  It  is 
all  over  and  done  with." 

He  laughed  in  a  self-satisfied  sort  of  way. 

"  Miss  Sybil,"  he  said,  "  I  tell  you  frankly  that  I'm 
not  unselfish  enough  for  those  things.  I  warn  you 
that  I  am  going  to  give  you  a  bit  of  a  shock.  It's  a 
regular  queer  sort  of  thing  that's  happened  to  me. 
Oh,  you'll  be  interested  presently,  if  you'll  listen ! 
Don't  understand  it  myself  a  bit,"  he  continued,  speak- 
ing half  to  himself  now  and  watching  the  smoke  from 
the  cigarette  which  he  had  just  lit  curl  its  way  up- 
wards. "  Of  course,  I've  had  heaps  of  affairs,  and  the 
marriage  traps  I've  escaped  from  —  God  bless  my  soul, 
I  ought  to  write  my  memoirs  or  whatever  you  call  it, 
just  to  show  people  what  a  fellow  with  a  title  and  a 
big  income  has  to  go  through!  One  gets  as  wily  to- 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN        77 

wards  forty  as  an  old  cock  pheasant  at  the  end  of  the 
season.  That's  what  makes  it  so  surprising." 

"  Makes  what  so  surprising?  "  she  asked. 

He  turned  and  looked  at  her.  She  began  to  shiver. 
A  glimmering  of  the  truth  forced  its  way  in  upon  her 
consciousness.  There  were  things  in  his  face  —  the 
ugly  things  as  they  seemed  to  her. 

"  You're  not  going  to  insult  me  —  here !  " 

He  smiled  confidently. 

"  If  you  call  it  an  insult,"  he  replied,  "  I  am  going 
to  insult  you  in  a  new  and  unprecedented  fashion.  I 
am  going  to  insult  you  in  a  way  that  pretty  nearly 
any  girl  in  London  would  jump  at.  I  am  going  to 
show  you  that  I,  too,  am  capable  of  big  things  when 
I  make  up  my  mind.  I  am  going  to  ask  you  to  chuck 
Jermyn  and  marry  me.  Do  you  hear  —  marry  me? 
I'll  make  you  Marchioness  of  Lakenham !  " 

Her  fingers  were  nervously  entwined  in  the  basket- 
work  of  her  chair.  She  sat  up  a  little.  She  even  ven- 
tured to  laugh  uneasily  and  to  look  at  him  once  more. 
The  complacency  upon  his  face  was  sublime. 

"  Of  course  you  are  joking!  "  she  ventured. 

*'  Joking  be  —  hanged !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  No  won- 
der you're  surprised!  I  don't  know  what  it  means 
myself,"  he  went  on,  in  a  low  tone.  "  I've  been  gone 
on  women  before,  and  when  I've  been  gone  on  'em  I've 
generally  had  my  own  way  or  got  over  it  pretty  soon. 
But  this  time  —  well,  I  don't  understand  it.  I  saw 
you  last  night  and  I  haven't  rested  since.  There's 
something  in  my  blood  —  I  don't  know  what  it  is  but 
it  will  never  be  still  until  you  belong  to  me.  And  I 
am  willing  to  pay.  I'll  pay  the  price.  You've  got 
to  throw  Jermyn  over  and  marry  me." 


78        THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN 

She  began  to  laugh.  To  his  ears,  which  were  not 
trained  to  niceties,  it  seemed  to  be  a  perfectly  natural 
laugh. 

"  Throw  Jermyn  over  —  for  you ! " 

She  looked  at  the  slim  figure  upon  the  lawn,  with 
his  clean-cut  face,  his  deep-set  gray  eyes.  She  heard 
his  voice,  clear  and  pleasant,  as  he  called  to  his  partner. 
Then  she  looked  back  to  the  man  who  lounged  by  her 
side. 

"  Do  you  think  that  I  am  mad,"  she  asked  him,  "  even 
if  you  are?  Do  you  think  that  I  would  give  up 
Jermyn  for  such  a  creature  as  you  are?  " 

His  face  darkened  but  he  showed  no  anger. 

"  I  think  you'll  be  mad  if  you  try  any  games  on 
with  me,"  he  replied.  "  I  can  stop  your  marrying 
Jermyn  and  you  know  it.  You  can  take  my  word  for 
it,  too,  if  you  don't  agree  to  my  terms,  that  I  shall  do 
it." 

"  You  mean  that  you  will  tell  him  ?  " 

"  That  or  any  other  dirty  trick,"  Lakenham  assured 
her  promptly.  "  Mind  you,  I  know  I'm  a  fool.  I 
might  have  put  things  very  differently  to  you.  I  might 
have  insisted,  even  now,  that  you  carried  out  your  bar- 
gain." 

They  were  quite  silent  for  some  time.  Then  Sybil 
rose  quietly  to  her  feet. 

"  Where  are  you  going?  "  he  asked  roughly. 

"  I  am  going  to  tell  Jermyn,"  she  answered  com- 
posedly, "  when  he  has  finished  this  game,  that  you 
have  insulted  me.  I  am  going  to  tell  him  exactly 
what  happened  at  Blackpool,  explain  to  him  the  po- 
sition I  was  in,  and  the  despicable  means  I  made  use 
of  to  get  out  of  it.  I  am  going  to  tell  him  that  one 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN       79 

of  us  will  have  to  leave  here  at  once.  He  shall  choose 
for  himself  which  it  is  to  be." 

Lakenham,  too,  rose  to  his  feet. 

"  Now,  listen,"  he  said.  "  That's  all  right,  but  what 
do  you  suppose  Jermyn  will  do?  He'll  send  me  away 
right  enough,  but  what  about  you?  Do  you  suppose 
that  he'll  marry  you?  You  don't  know  Jermyn  if  you 
believe  that!  I  tell  you  he's  a  prig  of  the  first  water. 
He's  the  most  stuck-up,  opinionated,  narrow-minded 
person  that  ever  breathed.  He  will  do  what  he  thinks 
right  in  spite  of  anything,  but  let  me  tell  you  this  — 
he  won't  marry  you  after  he's  heard  about  Blackpool. 
He's  never  forgiven  a  person  yet  who  told  him  a  lie  or 
a  half  lie.  He  won't  begin  by  forgiving  you.  Do  you 
think  he  hasn't  felt  scruples?  Do  you  think  he  wanted 
to  bring  a  mistress  here  who  had  adorned  the  musical 
comedy  stage  a  few  years  ago,  even  though  she  is 
acting  at  the  theatres  now?  Not  he!  He  swallowed 
it  because  he's  in  love  with  you  and  because  he  be- 
lieves in  you.  Go  and  tell  him  the  truth.  I've  noth- 
ing to  lose.  You'll  probably  be  glad  to  listen  to  me 
afterwards." 

She  sat  down  again.  Her  first  impulse  had  passed 
away.  She  was  conscious  of  a  fierce  desire  to  tempo- 
rize with  this  man,  to  do  anything  in  the  world  sooner 
than  risk  for  a  moment  her  new-found  and  amazing 
happiness.  He  saw  her  hesitation  and  he  pursued,  as 
he  thought,  his  own  advantage. 

"  Sybil,"  he  continued,  "  I  haven't  said  much  about 
it  yet  —  you  haven't  given  me  a  chance  —  but  I  want 
you  to  remember  that  although  Jermyn  may  be  fond 
of  you  in  his  way,  I  am  just  as  fond  of  you  in  mine. 
Jermyn  will  want  you  to  live  up  in  the  clouds  with 


8o        THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

him.  You'll  find  it  chilly  there  sometimes.  I'll  keep 
your  feet  upon  the  earth,  little  woman,  and  I'll  lead 
you  among  the  pleasant  places.  The  Lakenham  jewels 
are  worth  looking  at,  and  I  can  make  people  receive 
you  wherever  you  choose  to  go.  I'm  fond  of  you,  you 
witch !  What  you've  done  I  don't  know  but  I'm  madly 
fond  of  you.  I'll  chuck  all  those  little  affairs  you 
may  have  heard  of.  There  shall  never  be  another,  I 
promise  it.  It's  time  I  settled  down,  and  I  will.  You 
think  this  over,  Sybil.  There's  no  hurry  for  a  few 
hours.  You're  full  of  the  idea  of  marrying  Jermyn, 
just  now,  and  it's  carried  you  away  a  bit.  If  you  want 
my  honest  opinion  about  it,  I  think  that  the  woman 
who  marries  Jermvn  will  have  a  plaguey  dull  time  of 
it." 

She  turned  towards  him. 

"  If  I  told  you,"  she  pleaded,  "  that  I  love  Jermyn, 
that  no  other  man  in  the  world  could  take  his  place  — 
no,  not  for  a  single  second !  —  wouldn't  that  make  any 
difference?  Wouldn't  you  let  me  off  then?  " 

"  No,"  he  answered  stolidly,  "  I  wouldn't !  You  may 
feel  like  that  just  now.  He  writes  your  plays  for 
you  and  I  suppose  you  think  him  a  sort  of  god.  That 
kind  of  person's  all  very  well  until  you  try  to  live  with 
him." 

The  set  was  over.  Already  Jermyn  and  Mary, 
flushed  with  triumph,  were  on  their  way  towards  them. 

"  Six-three ! "  the  latter  called  out,  waving  her 
racquet.  "  They  really  hadn't  a  look  in.  If  only  I 
could  have  served  decently  it  would  have  been  a  love 
set."  . 

"  Think  it  over  for  a  few  hours,"  Lakenham  mut- 
tered in  a  hoarse  undertone.  "  I'll  say  nothing  until 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN       81 

the  evening.  Play  me  a  game  of  billiards  after  din- 
ner. You  hate  bridge,  anyway.  You  can  give  me 
your  answer  then." 

She  hesitated.  Jermyn  was  already  close  to  them 
when  he  was  intercepted  by  the  butler,  who  delivered 
a  message.  He  hesitated. 

"  I  am  wanted  on  the  telephone,"  he  told  Sybil. 
"  I'll  be  out  again  in  half  a  moment." 

"  Don't  hurry,"  Lakenham  cried  cheerfully.  "  I 
don't  consider  I've  had  half  an  inning  with  Miss  Cluley 
yet.  We've  lots  more  to  say  to  one  another." 

"  Better  get  it  over  quickly,  then,"  Jermyn  replied 
over  his  shoulder.  "  You'll  have  no  more  opportunity 
after  I  get  back.  I  see  a  car-load  full  from  the  bar- 
racks coming  across  the  park.  I  asked  some  of  them 
over  to  play  tennis.  I  shan't  be  a  minute,  Sybil." 

He  turned  towards  the  house.  Sybil  at  first  seemed 
inclined  to  follow  him  but  Lakenham  blocked  the  way. 

"  Be  sensible,  little  woman,"  he  urged.  "  Don't 
quarrel  with  me.  I'm  a  nasty-tempered  fellow  to  have 
on  the  other  side.  Remember,  after  all,  that  I  am  do- 
ing the  square  thing:  ignoring  the  fact  that  you 
treated  me  shamefully,  doing  all  that  a  fellow  can  do 
who's  in  love  with  you.  I  am  asking  you  to  be  my 
wife.  I  don't  want  to  boast  but  it  isn't  a  trifle.  It's 
a  new  idea  to  you  and  I  daresay  it  hurts  just  at  first 
to  think  about  chucking  Jermyn,  but  you  know  in  the 
long  run  you've  got  to  do  it.  Don't  do  anything 
rash.  Take  an  hour  or  two  to  think  it  over.  Promise 
that  you'll  play  me  that  game  of  billiards  after 
dinner?  That's  all  I  ask  for  now.  What  do  you 


say?" 


It  will  be  of  no  use,"  she  answered  quietly. 


82        THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

shall  never  change  my  mind.  But  I  will  play  billiards 
with  you  after  dinner.  Only  I  tell  you  this  now  — 
I  may  as  well.  If  you  come  between  me  and  Jermyn, 
if  I  am  never  to  belong  to  him,  then  I  shall  never  be- 
long to  any  one." 

He  smiled  a  little  fatuously,  a  little  confidently. 
He  had  at  any  rate  scored  a  first  success. 

"  We  shall  see,"  he  said. 

Jermyn  reappeared,  a  few  minutes  later,  with  his 
newly  arrived  guests.  Lakenham  and  Sybil  strolled  up 
to  meet  them,  and  some  sets  at  tennis  were  quickly  ar- 
ranged. 

"  It  was  really  you  who  were  wanted  on  the 
telephone,  Lakenham,"  Jermyn  grumbled.  "  Fellow 
named  Norden  Smith  —  an  American,  I  think  —  wanted 
to  know  whether  you  were  here." 

"  The  devil  he  did !  "  Lakenham  remarked.  "  Sure 
It  wasn't  Mrs.  Norden  Smith?  " 

Jermyn  shook  his  head. 

"  Man's  voice,  right  enough,"  he  replied.  "  Said 
he'd  known  you  in  America  and  found  himself  in  the 
neighborhood.  Would  rather  like  to  say  how  do  you  do 
to  you.  He's  off  to  Lincoln  early  to-morrow  morning." 

There  was  a  peculiar  and  unpleasant  look  for  a  mo- 
ment in  Lakenham's  face.  He  was  smiling  as  though 
at  some  recollection  that  appealed  a  little  grimly  to 
his  sense  of  humor. 

"  I  scarcely  remember  the  fellow,"  he  declared. 
"  He  had  a  charming  wife,  though,  and  they  were  very 
civil  to  me,  in  their  way,  in  New  York." 

"  I  gathered  from  what  he  said  that  they  had  en- 
tertained you,"  Jermyn  said,  "  so  I  asked  him  to  dine, 
of  course,  but  he  preferred  to  come  in  afterwards* 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN       83 

Said  he'd  look  you  up  about  half -past  nine  for  a  few 
minutes.'* 

"  Hope  he  won't  expect  to  be  asked  down  to  Somer- 
set," Lakenham  remarked.  "  I  want  to  be  in  Scot- 
land at  least  three  weeks.  They're  so  jolly  hospitable 
over  there,  though,  these  Americans,  that  you  don't 
—  I  say,  Jermyn,  you're  not  taking  Miss  Cluley 
away  ?  " 

"  Absolutely,"  Jermyn  replied  firmly.  "  Here's 
Lucille,  looking,  as  usual,  like  a  picture.  You  can 
either  play  tennis  or  flirt  with  her  to  your  heart's  con- 
tent. I  am  terrified  to  think  that  I  have  left  Sybil  so 
long  near  such  a  redoubtable  lady-killer." 

She  turned  and  laughed  daringly  into  Lakenham's 
face. 

"  My  dear  Jermyn,"  she  said,  "  you  have  discretion ! 
Lord  Lakenham  has  been  making  flagrant  love  to  me. 
I  very  nearly  had  to  call  you." 

Lakenham  grinned.  This  was  the  sort  of  humor 
he  appreciated! 

"  Gad !  "  he  exclaimed,  looking  at  Sybil's  slim  figure 
with  something  in  his  eyes  which  Jermyn  hated,  "  if 
only  I'd  had  another  half-hour  I  believe  I  might  have 
had  a  chance,  after  all." 

Jermyn  smiled  and  pointed  to  the  gray  stone  carving 
on  the  front  of  the  house. 

"'What  I  have,  I  hold,'"  he  quoted.  "You  are 
just  a  few  days  too  late,  my  gallant  cousin." 

Lakenham  laughed.  He  stood  with  his  hands  in  his 
pockets  —  a  typical  attitude  —  burly,  dogged,  confi- 
dent. 

"  We'll  match  mottoes,  Jermyn,"  he  said.  "  You 
known  mine  ?  — '  I  hope,  I  win ! '  " 


84        THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

Jermyn  drew  Sybil's  arm  through  his  and  turned 
away. 

"  I  shall  at  once,'*  he  declared,  "  remove  Miss  Cluley 
from  the  sphere  of  your  influence !  " 


CHAPTER  XI 

Dinner  that  night  at  Annerley  was  a  somewhat 
memorable  meal  for  all  who  took  part  in  it.  Besides 
the  house-party,  two  men  from  the  neighboring  bar- 
racks had  remained  over,  and  the  doctor  who  had 
played  bridge  the  night  before  had  been  sent  for. 
From  the  first,  the  atmosphere  had  been  a  little  electric. 
Sybil,  from  the  moment  of  taking  her  place  at  the  table, 
had  seemed  animated  by  the  highest  spirits.  She 
had  walked  into  the  room  as  though  she  were  walking 
on  air.  The  poise  of  her  neck,  the  carriage  of  her 
lithe  body,  appeared  alike  imbued  with  some  nameless 
enchantment.  She  had  more  color  than  usual,  her  eyes 
were  brilliant,  her  mouth  radiant  with  smiles.  She 
was  all  the  time  the  life  of  the  dinner-party,  the  whole 
centre  of  attraction.  At  the  head  of  the  table  Lucille, 
who  herself  was  wonderfully  dressed  in  black  and  silver, 
with  strange  jewels  glistening  at  her  bosom,  sat  and 
watched  and  listened.  The  village  doctor  was  on  her 
left,  the  elder  of  the  two  officers  from  the  barracks 
on  her  right.  They  paid  her  polite  attentions  but  their 
eyes  were  fixed  upon  Sybil.  She  seemed,  indeed,  to  have 
found  an  unaccustomed  vein  of  levity.  She  laughed 
boldly  in  Lakenham's  face ;  she  appeared  either  to  have 
conquered  or  to  have  completely  forgotten  her  aver- 
sion to  him.  Jermyn  watched  her  all  the  time,  his  eyes 
shining  with  admiration,  yet  even  he,  too,  now  and  then 


86        THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

wondered.  If  she  were  not  actually  flirting  with  Lord 
Lakenham,  she  was  at  any  rate  toying  with  his  ad- 
vances, laughing  indulgently  at  his  compliments,  mock- 
ing at  his  rather  too  obvious  earnestness,  yet  always 
with  the  faint  reserve  of  coquetry  which  to  a  man  like 
Lakenham  was  so  maddening. 

Although  they  had  sat  down  to  dinner  early,  it  was 
half -past  nine  before  they  rose  from  the  table.  There 
was  no  question  of  separation  for  the  cigars  and  ciga- 
rettes had  already  been  served.  Jermyn  looked  eagerly 
across  at  Sybil. 

"  At  last ! "  he  whispered  under  his  breath. 
"  Lakenham,  you  and  Lucille,  Doctor  Brownrigg, 
Captain  Mason  and  Major  Lethersett,  must  cut  out 
for  bridge.  Miss  Cluley  and  I  are  going  to  have  a 
talk  over  the  play." 

Lakenham  laughed  heavily.  He  was  very  flushed 
and  his  eyes  were  bright. 

"  Not  a  bit  of  it,  Jermyn,  old  fellow,"  he  replied. 
"  Miss  Cluley  and  I  have  fixed  that  all  up.  It's  my 
last  night  and  she's  going  to  play  me  a  fifty  up  at 
billiards." 

Jermyn  was  silent  for  a  moment.  His  eyes  sought 
Sybil's.  She  was  suddenly  very  still  and  cold. 

"  Do  you  really  care  about  billiards,  Sybil?"  he 
asked,  a  little  doubtfully. 

"  I  have  promised  Lord  Lakenham  to  have  one  game," 
she  answered.  "  After  that  we  can  do  whatever  you 
like." 

Jermyn  walked  with  them  into  the  hall.  Notwith- 
standing Sybil's  altered  demeanor,  he  was  conscious  of 
a  strange  disinclination  to  leave  her  alone  with  Laken- 
ham. Even  when  he  had  had  the  lights  lit  in  the  bil-; 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN        87 

Hard-room  and  had  offered  to  mark,  an  offer  which 
Lakenham  promptly  refused,  he  lingered  on  one  pre- 
text or  another. 

"  I  think  I'll  watch  the  game,"  he  decided.  "  They 
don't  want  me  for  bridge." 

"  My  dear  fellow,"  Lakenham  replied,  chalking  his 
cue,  "  you'll  be  shockingly  in  the  way.  I  can't  pos- 
sibly say  nice  things  to  Miss  Cluley  while  you're 
around.  It  isn't  giving  either  of  us  a  chance.  Time 
enough  for  you  later  on." 

Jermyn  looked  across  at  Sybil  but  she  seemed  for 
some  reason  to  be  avoiding  his  eyes.  He  shrugged  his 
shoulders  slightly. 

"  Well,"  he  said,  "  I  shall  be  in  the  library  with  the 
other  people  when  you  have  finished.  Don't  tire  your- 
self, Sybil.  You  have  had  plenty  of  running  about 
to-day." 

"  I  am  going  to  rest  after  every  stroke,"  she  laughed, 
"  and  Lord  Lakenham  is  going  to  give  me  twenty  in 
fifty,  so  I  don't  think  our  game  ought  to  last  very 
long." 

"  You  won't  expect  me  to  hurry  over  it !  "  Lakenham 
protested,  ardently. 

Sybil  was  leaning  with  her  back  against  the  billiard 
table.  She  waved  her  hand  to  Jermyn. 

"  If  we  are  not  out  in  half  an  hour,"  she  begged, 
"  come  and  rescue  me." 

"  I  shan't  allow  you  a  second  longer,"  he  replied, 
smiling  at  her.  "  I'll  go  and  see  how  the  bridge  is  get- 
ting on." 

He  left  the  room,  closing  the  door  behind  him,  and 
made  his  way  to  the  library.  The  remaining  four  of 
his  guests  had  just  started  a  rubber.  They  had  drawn 


88        THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

a  table  up  to  the  open  windows  and  had  turned  out 
all  the  lights  in  the  room  except  a  couple  of  standard 
lamps,  which  stood  on  either  side  of  the  table.  Jcrmyii 
threw  himself  into  a  low  chair  by  Lucille's  side.  She 
was  dummy  at  the  moment  and  she  looked  down  at 
him  with  a  faint  smile.  Her  hand  rested  upon  his. 

"  Miss  Cluley  seems  to  be  overcoming  her  aversion 
to  Aynesworth,"  she  murmured. 

He  was  conscious  of  the  affront  of  her  words;  con- 
scious, too,  of  a  peculiar  uneasiness,  which  was  not 
exactly  jealousy  and  yet  for  which  he  could  not  wholly 
account. 

"  Sybil  is  never  discourteous  to  any  one,"  he  said 
calmly.  "  She  may  or  may  not  appreciate  Aynes- 
worth's  attentions.  She  at  least  is  considerate  enough 
to  remember  that  he  is  my  kinsman  and  her  fellow- 
guest.  I  think  that  she  is  quite  right  to  try  and  con- 
quer her  antipathy  to  him." 

Lucille  smiled  once  more. 

"  You  will  make  a  model  husband,  my  dear  Jermyn !  " 

"  I  shall  do  my  best,"  he  answered.  "  I  do  not 
fancy  that  I  shall  find  it  very  troublesome  to  be  what 
you  call  a  model  husband  to  Sybil.  You  see,  I  happen 
to  be  very  fond  of  her." 

The  play  of  the  hand  had  only  just  commenced. 
Lucille  rose  abruptly  to  her  feet. 

"  Come  here,"  she  said,  moving  towards  the  open 
window. 

Jermyn  obeyed  her  at  once.  They  stepped  out  on 
to  the  avenue.  The  moon  had  not  yet  risen,  and  com- 
ing directly  from  the  lighted  room  the  deep  violet 
twilight  seemed  full  of  shadows.  She  stood  with  him 
behind  a  little  clump  of  syringa  bushes.  Jermyn,  with 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN        89 

the  natural  impressionability  of  an  artist  always  on 
the  lookout  for  effects,  could  scarcely  fail  to  appreciate 
how  striking  a  picture  she  made  with  her  white  face, 
her  red  lips  and  blazing  eyes.  She  swayed  a  little  to- 
wards him. 

"  Jermyn,  haven't  you  any  pity  at  all? "  she 
whispered  passionately.  "  If  you  go  on  parading  your 
affection  for  that  little  chit  of  an  actress  before  me,  I 
shall  say  something  foolish.  I  shall  give  myself  away. 
You  mustn't  do  it,  Jermyn.  Haven't  you  any  heart 
at  all?" 

For  a  moment  he  made  no  reply.  He  was  realizing 
the  immense  mistake  he  had  made  when  he  had  an- 
swered her  letter  of  self -invitation  in  the  affirmative  and 
begged  her  to  come  and  play  hostess  at  Annerley.  He 
was  man  of  the  world  enough  to  realize  exactly  the  po- 
sition, to  realize,  too,  that  short  of  brutality  he  could 
meet  it  only  by  strategy.  The  pose  he  decided  to  as- 
sume sat  upon  him  naturally  enough. 

"  My  dear  Lucille,"  he  protested,  "  why  try  to  flirt 
with  me?  The  impressionable  youth  of  two  great  cities 
are  already  your  victims.  Remember  I  have  seen  them 
fall.  I  have  seen  your  wiles  from  the  inside.  Per- 
haps," he  added,  with  a  sigh,  "  even  if  I  am  partially 
cured,  I  myself  have  once  felt  the  spell." 

"  You ! "  she  muttered  bitterly.  "  You !  You  feel 
nothing.  You  are  only  the  shadow  of  a  man.  You 
can  open  your  heart  to  a  little  chit  of  a  girl  when  you 
keep  it  closed  to  me  —  Lucille  de  Sayers !  " 

He  raised  her  hand  to  his  lips.  Even  he  could 
scarcely  help  thinking  how  beautiful  her  slim,  white 
fingers  were.  She  had  all  the  grace  of  long  limbs, 
exceedingly  delicate  and  shapely.  Nevertheless,  he 


go        THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

moved  slightly  so  that  he  stood  now  in  the  little  ray 
of  light  streaming  out  from  the  room. 

"  I  suppose  it  was  our  old  friendship  which  saved 
me,"  he  declared.  "  Do  you  hear  that  ?  They  are  deal- 
ing." 

From  where  they  stood  they  could  hear  the  soft  pat- 
ter of  cards  upon  the  green  baize  of  the  table.  Lucille 
did  not  move  for  a  moment.  Her  bosom  was  rising  and 
falling  quickly,  there  was  a  storm  in  her  eyes. 

"  You  are  clever,  my  dear  Jermyn,"  she  murmured. 
"  Some  day,  perhaps  —  well,  we  shall  see." 

She  walked  away  and  took  her  place  at  the  table. 
Jermyn  strolled  off  into  the  shadows  of  the  garden, 
threaded  a  laurel  shrubbery  and  stood  by  the  lake. 
He  was  sensitive  enough  to  feel  keenly  the  little  scene 
which  had  been  precipitated  upon  him,  but  at  the  back 
of  it  all  the  greater  happiness  prevailed.  Life  had 
never  seemed  so  splendid  to  him  as  in  those  few  minutes 
when  he  walked  in  the  gardens  he  loved  and  finally 
turned  his  face  towards  the  house,  curiously  picturesque 
in  its  indistinctness,  with  the  lights  streaming  from 
every  window.  The  half-hour  was  up.  In  a  few 
minutes  Sybil  would  be  his  once  more. 

He  entered  the  house  through  the  library  window 
and  watched  the  game,  looking  over  Lucille's  shoulder. 
She  did  not  once  glance  towards  him.  Then  the  door 
was  opened  and  the  butler  appeared,  ushering  in  a 
visitor. 

"  Mr.  Norden  Smith,  sir,"  he  announced,  "  to  see  the 
Marquis  of  Lakenham." 

Jermyn  turned  at  once  to  greet  his  visitor.  He  was, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  rather  glad  of  the  distraction.  He 
was  glad,  too,  of  so  plausible  an  excuse  for  going  in 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN       91 

and  breaking  up  that  billiard  match,  which  apparently 
was  still  continuing.  Mr.  Norden  Smith  was  a  tall, 
colorless,  thin  American,  loosely  built,  with  a  long,  in- 
telligent face  and  high  forehead.  He  was  wearing  din- 
ner clothes  of  a  somewhat  transatlantic  cut,  and  a 
small,  precisely  tied  black  bow.  Jermyn  advanced  to 
meet  him  and  held  out  his  hand. 

"  You  are  a  friend  of  Lakenham's,  I  understand," 
he  remarked.  "  I  am  very  glad  you  came  over.  I 
spoke  to  you  on  the  telephone,  I  think.  My  name  is 
Annerley." 

"  Glad  to  meet  you,  Sir  Jermyn  Annerley,  I  am 
sure,"  Mr.  Norden  Smith  replied.  "  Lord  Lakenham 
stayed  with  us  out  in  New  York,  and  he  made  me  prom- 
ise that  I'd  look  him  up  if  ever  I  found  myself  in  this 
country.  I  happened  to  hear  by  accident  that  he  was 
staying  here  but  I've  no  wish  to  intrude.  I  won't 
stay  longer  than  just  to  shake  hands  with  him,  if  he 
is  anywhere  about." 

"  You  mustn't  think  of  hurrying,"  Jermyn  declared, 
hospitably.  "  Come  along  and  I'll  take  you  to  him. 
He's  playing  billiards." 

"  That's  very  kind  of  you,"  Mr.  Norden  Smith  an- 
swered. "  I'll  be  delighted.  Say,  this  house  of  yours 
is  marvelously  attractive  to  an  American  —  all  these 
old  pictures  and  things !  Look  as  though  they'd  sort 
of  been  born  with  the  place,  you  know.  Mighty  im- 
pressive, I  can  tell  you." 

Jermyn  smiled  as  he  led  his  guest  across  the  hall. 

"  We  are  rather  proud  of  Annerley,"  he  admitted. 
"  You  see  my  people  have  been  here  uninterruptedly 
for  four  hundred  and  sixty  years,  so  naturally  we 
managed  to  collect  a  good  many  trifles  in  that  time." 


92        THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN 

Mr.  Norden  Smith  looked  around  him  with  typical 
curiosity.  He  was  expressing  his  wonder  at  the  size 
of  a  suit  of  armor  when  Jermyn  threw  open  the  door  of 
the  billiard-room.  Then  he  stopped  suddenly  in  his 
speech.  Jermyn  stood  upon  the  threshold,  his  right 
hand  gripping  the  side  of  the  door,  absolutely  mo- 
tionless, bereft  for  a  moment  of  all  power  of  speech,  a 
numb,  nerveless  figure.  The  American,  looking  over 
his  shoulder,  was  the  first  to  break  the  silence. 

"  My  God ! "  he  exclaimed.  "  What's  happened 
here?" 

Jermyn  clutched  at  his  companion  and  drew  him  into 
the  room.  His  voice,  when  he  spoke,  seemed  to  come 
from  a  long  way  off.  He  was  scarcely  conscious  that 
it  belonged  to  himself. 

"  Close  the  door !  "  he  ordered.  "  We  mustn't  let 
any  one  come  in !  " 

Lying  a  yard  or  two  in  the  room  was  Lakenham, 
flat  upon  his  back,  with  one  arm  gripping  the  leg  of 
the  billiard  table,  as  though  he  had  tried  to  draw  him- 
self up  and  failed.  Far  above  him,  curling  its  way 
to  the  ceiling,  hovered  a  thin  blue  cloud  of  smoke. 
There  was  a  faint  smell  of  gunpowder  in  the  air,  and 
in  the  centre  of  his  crumpled  white  shirt  front  a  little 
hole,  with  brown  specks  around  it.  Jermyn  looked 
around  the  room  wildly.  There  was  no  sign  of  any 
other  person  there.  On  the  floor  by  the  side  of  the 
prostrate  man  was  Sybil's  fan  and  the  cue  she  had  been 
playing  with,  and  one  or  two  of  the  roses,  broken  off 
close  to  the  stalk,  which  she  had  been  wearing.  Jermyn 
shivered. 

"  I  was  a  fool  to  have  left  them ! "  he  muttered,  with 
a  little  sob  in  his  throat. 


"  My  God  !  "  he  exclaimed.      "  What's  happened  here  ? 
Page  92. 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN        93 

"Left  whom?"  Mr.  Norden  Smith  asked  quickly. 

Jermyn  half  closed  his  eyes.  It  seemed  to  him  at 
that  moment  that  he  could  see  the  struggle  —  Laken- 
ham,  flushed  with  wine,  taunted,  on  fire  with  his  admira- 
tion ;  and  Sybil,  frightened  at  last,  struggling  to  escape, 
his  hand  probably  upon  her  mouth.  He  wiped  the 
beads  of  perspiration  from  his  forehead. 

"  Stay  here,"  he  said  to  his  companion.  "  There's 
a  doctor  in  the  other  room.  I'll  fetch  him.'* 


CHAPTER  XII 

The  room  was  still  swaying  before  Jermyn's  eyes  as 
he  backed  towards  the  door.  Mr.  Norden  Smith,  how- 
ever, had  quietly  slipped  in  front  of  him. 

"  One  moment,  Sir  Jermyn,"  the  latter  said  calmly. 
"  With  whom  did  you  say  that  Lord  Lakenham  was 
playing  billiards  ?  " 

"  With  Miss  Sybil  Cluley,"  Jermyn  replied. 

"  The  young  lady  whom  I  heard  in  the  village  this 
afternoon  that  you  were  engaged  to  marry?  " 

"  Yes ! " 

Mr.  Norden  Smith  listened  intently.  There  seemed 
to  be  no  one  about.  Through  the  open  windows  they 
heard  a  little  peal  of  laughter  from  the  bridge-table. 

"  Collect  yourself  for  a  moment,  Sir  Jermyn.  Some- 
thing terrible  has  happened  here.  If  you  act  too 
hastily  you  may  make  it  more  terrible  still.  Do  you 
see  those  things  upon  the  floor?  " 

Jermyn  stared  at  them  without  speech. 

"  Now  I  am  a  criminal  lawyer,"  Mr.  Norden  Smith 
continued,  "  and  if  I  were  to  speak  to  you  from  the 
point  of  view  of  the  law,  I  should  say  — '  Touch 
nothing.*  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  another  point 
of  view.  I  am  in  a  foreign  country  and  my  profes- 
sion here  carries  no  obligations  with  it.  I  am  free, 
therefore,  to  offer  you  the  advice  of  a  guest.  I  know 
nothing  about  the  merits  of  any  dispute  which  Miss 


THE   WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN       95 

Sybil  Cluley  and  Lord  Lakenham  may  have  had,  but  if 
I  were  you  I  think  I  should  conceal  those  very  obvious 
signs  of  a  struggle." 

The  man's  calm  tone  was  having  its  effect  upon 
Jermyn.  He  began  to  realize  the  situation  more 
clearly.  The  sick  feeling  of  horror  which  had  almost 
overcome  him  was  still  there,  but  he  was  feeling  better 
able  to  withstand  it. 

"  You  are  right,"  he  muttered.  "  I  was  a  fool  not 
to  think  of  it." 

He  stooped  down  and  groped  about  the  floor  near 
where  Lord  Lakenham  was  lying.  There  were  half-a- 
dozen  crushed  roses  from  the  bouquet  which  he  had  sent 
to  her  room  before  dinner,  lying  just  underneath  the 
table,  a  little  rosette  of  ivory  satin,  a  fragment  of  lace 
from  her  scarf.  He  picked  them  up  jealously  and 
stuffed  them  into  his  pocket.  Mr.  Norden  Smith  looked 
on  approvingly. 

"  Little  pieces  of  circumstantial  evidence  like  that," 
he  remarked,  "  will  sometimes  hang  an  innocent  per- 
son. If  Lord  Lakenham  has  been  shot  by  anybody, 
and  that  certainly  seems  to  be  the  case,  the  young  lady 
must  take  her  chance.  There  is  no  need,  however,  to 
prejudice  it  by  handing  up  testimony  like  that." 

"  She  didn't  do  it !  "  Jermyn  gasped.  "  Sybil  would 
never  have  hurt  any  one !  " 

"  All  the  more  reason,  then,"  Mr.  Norden  Smith 
pointed  out,  "  for  concealing  those  little  scraps  of  evi- 
dence, which  certainly  seem  to  point  towards  a  strug- 
gle. And  now,  if  there  is  really  such  a  person  in  the 
house  as  a  doctor,  wouldn't  it  be  best  for  you  to  fetch 
him?" 

Like  a  man  in  a  dream,  Jermyn  strode  across  the 


96        THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

hall  into  the  library.  Doctor  Brownrigg  was  just  about 
to  play  a  hand.  Jermyn  tapped  him  on  the  shoulder. 

"  Brownrigg,"  he  said,  "  you're  wanted.  Will  you 
come  with  me  at  once,  please?  " 

The  doctor  looked  around,  a  little  surprised.  He 
was  a  heavy  man  and  his  instincts  were  not  particularly 
quick.  He  was  also  enjoying  his  bridge  exceedingly. 

"Is  it  the  telephone?"  he  inquired,  irritably.  "I 
will  answer  it  as  soon  as  I  have  played  this  hand.  I 
suppose  it's  old  mother  Gastill  again  with  her  rheuma- 
tism. These  people  expect  me  to  go  and  give  them 
opium  every  — " 

"  My  dear  Jermyn,"  Lucille  exclaimed,  "  what  on 
earth  is  the  matter  with  you?  Have  you  been  seeing 
ghosts?  " 

The  doctor  still  sat  placidly  in  his  place.  Jermyn 
stretched  out  his  arm,  sweeping  some  of  the  cards  from 
the  table. 

"  Come  with  me  this  moment,  Brownrigg,"  he  said, 
gripping  his  shoulder.  "  Never  mind  your  hand.  It 
is  not  a  telephone  message.  Something  has  happened 
here  —  in  the  house." 

The  little  party  all  rose  to  their  feet.  Dr.  Brown- 
rigg sprang  up  quickly  enough  now  and  accompanied 
Jermyn  out  of  the  room.  The  others  followed  a  few 
yards  behind. 

"  What  is  it?  "  the  doctor  asked.  "  What  is  it,  eh? 
Any  one  taken  ill  suddenly?  " 

"  Lakenham  is  lying  in  the  billiard-room,"  Jermyn 
answered.  "  He  seems  to  have  shot  himself,  or  —  been 
shot  by  accident.  I  believe  he's  dead." 

"  Good  God !  "  Dr.  Brownrigg  muttered. 

He  quickened  his  pace.     They  entered  the  billiard- 


THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN       97 

room.  Jermyn  closed  the  door  firmly  behind  them. 
Mr.  Norden  Smith  was  on  his  knees,  bending  over  the 
prostrate  body.  He  looked  up  as  the  doctor  entered. 

"I  don't  think  he's  dead,"  he  remarked.  "The 
wound  seems  very  near  the  heart,  to  me,  but  he  is  cer- 
tainly breathing." 

The  doctor  made  a  brief  examination.  When  he 
arose,  he  was  looking  very  grave. 

"  Lord  Lakenham  is  alive,"  he  said.  "  I  cannot  say 
anything  more  until  I  have  examined  the  wound.  I 
should  like  him  carried  up  to  a  bedroom  and  I  must 
telephone  for  some  instruments  and  drugs.  It  may  be 
necessary  to  operate.  I  should  like  further  advice,  too. 
Send  for  some  of  your  men-servants,  and  a  low  basket 
chair  or  anything  that  will  do  for  a  litter,  Sir  Jermyn." 

They  carried  Lakenham  upstairs  and  laid  him  on  the 
bed  in  an  unoccupied  bedroom.  The  telephone  mes- 
sages were  despatched.  The  fastest  motor-car  in  the 
garage  was  already  on  its  way  to  Norwich  to  bring  out 
a  celebrated  surgeon.  Meanwhile,  the  doctor,  at  his 
own  request,  was  left  alone  with  his  patient.  Laken- 
ham was  unconscious  but  he  still  lived.  Downstairs> 
the  two  other  guests  took  their  leave  and  departed. 
Jermyn  found  Lucille  sitting  in  the  hall. 

"  He  is  still  alive  ?  "  she  inquired. 

"  He  is  still  alive,"  Jermyn  replied. 

She  came  and  passed  her  arm  through  his. 

"  Jermyn  dear,  this  is  all  so  horrible,"  she  said  softly. 
"  Come  and  sit  down  somewhere  quite  quietly,  some- 
where where  we  can  be  alone.  There  is  a  question  I 
must  ask  you." 

She  led  the  way  into  the  library.  He  followed  her 
almost  like  a  man  in  a  dream.  The  card-table  was  still 


98        THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

there,  the  dummy's  hand  spread  out  upon  the  table, 
the  liqueur  glasses,  half-empty,  at  the  side.  She 
poured  out  some  brandy  and  made  him  drink  it. 

"  Jermyn,"  she  asked,  "  have  you  seen  Miss  Cluley  ?  " 

"  No,"  he  answered ;  "  have  you  ?  " 

She  nodded  and  glanced  anxiously  towards  the  door. 
After  a  moment's  hesitation  she  rose  and  fastened  the 
French-windows  which  led  into  the  garden.  Then  she 
came  back  and  stood  by  his  side. 

"  Listen,"  she  said.  "  There  will  be  some  one  here 
from  the  police  station  before  very  long.  Dr.  Brown- 
rigg  told  me  that  he  had  been  obliged  to  telephone  there. 
As  you  can  very  well  imagine,  I  do  not  like  Miss  Cluley, 
but  I  don't  want  to  see  her  give  herself  away  com- 
pletely." 

Jermyn  caught  hold  of  the  edge  of  the  mantelpiece 
by  which  he  was  standing. 

"  You  don't  believe,"  he  gasped, — "  you  don't  be- 
lieve that  Sybil  shot  him  ?  " 

"  I  know  that  she  did,"  Lucille  replied  calmly. 

There  was  a  moment's  awful  silence.  Jermyn's  face 
was  like  marble.  Everything  in  the  room  was  indis- 
tinct to  him.  He  saw  only  Lucille's  eyes  shining  with 
sympathy,  heard  only  her  regretful,  convincing  words. 

"  Jermyn,"  she  pleaded,  "  you  must  face  this  mat- 
ter like  a  man.  For  these  few  moments,  at  any  rate, 
you  must  look  the  facts  in  the  face  and  put  sentiment 
on  one  side.  I  would  not  for  the  world  say  a  thing 
against  Sybil  Cluley,  but  it  is  quite  certain  that  Aynes- 
worth  knew  something  about  her  past  which  she  herself 
was  exceedingly  anxious  that  he  should  not  reveal  to 
you.  That  much  I  think  you  must  half  know  your- 
self. No,  don't  trouble  to  interrupt  me.  It  is  the 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN       99 

truth.  You  remember  that  she  fainted  last  night  at 
something  which  she  saw  in  the  Taller.  She  fainted, 
horror-stricken  at  the  idea  that  as  soon  as  Aynesworth 
saw  that  little  notice  of  her  career  he  would  be  supplied 
with  the  missing  link  in  the  chain  of  his  memory. 
Jermyn,  an  hour  afterwards  that  interview  was  cut  out 
of  every  illustrated  paper  in  the  house.  Aynesworth 
sent  to  Norwich  to-day  —  you  saw  his  man  returning 
on  his  motor-bicycle  —  and  got  copies.  Directly  he 
saw  them,  he  remembered.  You  saw  how  she  changed 
towards  him.  She  flirted  with  him  flagrantly  at  din- 
ner-time. She  did  her  best  to  bribe  him  to  silence.  He 
probably  wanted  more  than  she  was  willing  to  give. 
That  isn't  my  affair.  At  this  moment  it  isn't  yours. 
Anyway,  there  is  no  doubt  that  they  quarreled  in  the 
billiard-room  this  evening.  Look  at  it  any  way  you 
like,  Jermyn.  Even  the  angels  are  foolish  sometimes, 
you  know,  and  this  is  the  one  moment  in  your  life  when, 
for  your  own  sake,  you  must  face  the  truth.  There 
isn't  the  faintest  doubt  in  the  world  that  Sybil  Cluley 
shot  Aynesworth  sooner  than  have  him  tell  you  of  a  lit- 
tle episode  which  I  fancy  might  have  disturbed  even 
your  perfect  faith  in  her." 

"  I  can't  believe  it ! "  Jermyn  exclaimed.  "  Sybil 
was  afraid  of  Aynesworth,  I  know.  There  was  some- 
thing which  she  was  going  to  tell  me,  something  which 
she  will  tell  me." 

"  Rubbish !  "  Lucille  replied.  "  She  never  meant  to 
tell  you,  or  if  she  did,  it  wasn't  the  whole  truth  that  you 
were  to  hear.  Those  two  quarreled  in  the  billiard-room 
and  Aynesworth  was  found  shot.  Who  else  in  the 
whole  world,  do  you  suppose,  could  have  done  it?  Is 
there  a  single  person  you  can  think  of?  " 


ioo      THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

"  It  may  have  been  an  accident ! "  Jermyn  mut- 
tered. 

"  An  accident !  Well,  let  me  go  on,"  Lucille  con- 
tinued. "  A  quarter  of  an  hour  ago,  Miss  Sybil  Cluley, 
in  a  blue  serge  traveling  suit  and  carrying  a  dressing- 
case,  stole  out  of  her  room.  I  found  her  on  her  way  to 
the  back  stairs.  If  she  does  escape  the  fate  she  de- 
serves," Lucille  went  on,  "  she  has  me  to  thank  for  it.  I 
sent  her  back  to  her  room  pretty  quickly.  I  never  in 
my  life  knew  anything  so  idiotic  as  an  attempt  to  escape 
like  that!" 

"  Do  you  mean  that  she  was  leaving  the  house  ?  " 
Jermyn  demanded. 

"  Absolutely ! "  Lucille  replied.  "  She  made  no 
bones  about  it.  She  was  terrified,  she  said,  about 
being  asked  questions.  I  talked  common  sense  with 
her  and  she  was  quick  enough  to  realize  what  a  fool  she 
had  been.  She  has  changed  back  again  into  her  dinner 
clothes.  She  is  quite  composed  now  and  prepared  to 
face  the  thing." 

"  I  must  go  to  her,"  Jermyn  declared. 

"  Go,  by  all  means,  if  you  will,"  Lucille  replied.  "  I 
am  not  trying  to  keep  you  apart.  If  you  take  my  ad- 
vice, though,  you  will  say  very  little.  I  have  talked  to 
her  for  some  time.  She  hasn't  the  least  idea  now  of 
giving  herself  away.  She  will  deny  that  there  was  the 
slightest  disagreement  between  them.  She  does  not 
know  who  shot  him.  She  came  away  leaving  him  prac- 
ticing cannons.  I  have  impressed  that  upon  her. 
That  is  the  story  she  will  tell." 

"  And  how  do  you  know  that  it  is  not  the  true  one?  " 
Jermyn  asked. 

Once  more  Lucille  looked  around  the  room.     Then 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      101 

she  thrust  her  hand  into  the  bosom  of  her  gown  and 
produced  a  small  pistol. 

"  You  had  better  take  charge  of  this,"  she  said.  "  I 
have  been  concealing  it  myself  for  the  last  half -hour 
but  it  is  more  your  affair  than  mine.  This  was  lying 
on  the  carpet  in  Sybil  Cluley's  room." 

Jermyn  took  it  from  her  almost  mechanically. 

"  You  found  it  where  ?  " 

"  I  found  it  exactly  where  I  say  —  in  Sybil  Cluley's 
room,"  Lucille  repeated.  "  Jermyn,  try  and  be  a  man. 
Don't  look  so  dumbfounded.  Sybil  Cluley  may  be 
everything  you  think  she  is  but  it  is  just  as  certain  as 
that  you  and  I  are  talking  here  that  she  shot  Aynes- 
worth.  We  both  know  what  he  was.  He  was  a  cad 
about  women.  He  had  been  puzzling  ever  since  she  ar- 
rived about  some  memory.  Well,  it  came  to  him,  and 
whatever  that  memory  was,  it  was  the  memory  of  some- 
thing in  her  past  life  which  affected  her  reputation. 
She  knew  all  about  it.  Aynesworth  wouldn't  forget  to 
rub  it  in.  She  was  above  making  terms  with  him,  with- 
out a  doubt,  but  she  saw  the  chance  of  losing  you. 
Probably  she  lost  her  head.  Why  not?  Frankly,  I 
am  sorry  for  her,  Jermyn.  I  am  sorry  for  her  because 
I  think  that  Aynesworth  was  probably  brutally  provok- 
ing. I  want  to  save  her.  You  must  take  my  advice." 

"What  is  it?" 

"  She  will  be1  asked  questions.  She  will  probably 
have  to  attend  the  inquest.  She  will  come  under  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  suspicion,  without  a  doubt.  So  long  as 
that  pistol  is  never  produced  and  the  stories  of  any  dis- 
agreement between  her  and  Aynesworth  are  kept  quiet, 
she  is  in  no  more  danger  than  any  one  of  us.  Don't 
agitate  her.  Don't  put  fresh  ideas  into  her  head  —  she 


102      THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

knows  just  what  she  has  to  say.  And  if  you  do  see  her, 
for  Heaven's  sake  don't  let  her  try  to  run  away  again  !  " 

Jermyn  walked  to  the  window  and  stood  there  for 
several  moments.  Somewhere  in  the  far  distance  he 
could  hear  a  motor-car  approaching.  It  was  probably 
the  police!  He  turned  back  to  Lucille. 

"  If  she  did  this,"  he  cried  hoarsely,  "  it  must  have 
been  in  a  wild  moment !  She  wasn't  accountable  —  they 
can't  make  her  accountable !  She  was  terrified  of 
Aynesworth  all  the  time  —  no  one  could  help  seeing 
it." 

"  I  agree  with  you  absolutely,"  Lucille  replied,  "  but 
we  must  remember  that  the  law  judges  differently.  It 
takes  no  account  of  provocation.  We  must.  Don't 
disturb  her  now.  If  they  ask  her  questions  to-night, 
she  knows  exactly  what  she  has  to  say.  I'll  do  the  best 
I  can  for  her,  Jermyn,  for  your  sake,  but  let  me  tell 
you  this  —  you  are  the  only  person  whom  I  ever  shall 
tell  —  I  am  going  to  put  the  fact  absolutely  out  of 
my  mind.  Listen." 

She  paused  for  a  moment.  The  motor-car  was  draw- 
ing nearer  and  there  were  footsteps  in  the  hall,  but  the 
room  in  which  they  were  was  still  empty. 

"  I  saw  Sybil  Cluley  with  the  pistol  in  her  hand.  I 
went  along  the  lawn  just  as  far  as  the  billiard-room  win- 
dow just  before  Mr.  Norden  Smith  came.  I  thought  it 
was  only  a  joke.  Mind,  no  one  else  shall  ever  know 
that  from  me.  After  all,  she  is  a  woman  and  she  must 
have  been  taunted  almost  to  madness.  Listen !  Who's 
that?  There's  some  one  coming  down  the  stairs." 

They  both  listened  intently.  From  where  they  stood 
they  could  just  distinguish  the  sound  of  light,  stealthy 
footsteps  upon  the  smooth  oak  of  the  staircase,  the 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      103 

swish  of  a  dress,  footsteps  that  hesitated  a  little  and 
yet  came  steadily  on.  Jermyn  moved  to  the  door  and 
threw  it  wide  open.  They  both  stood  upon  the  thresh- 
old, looking  out.  With  her  hand  upon  the  banisters, 
peering  half  fearfully  forward,  only  a  few  steps  above 
them,  stood  Sybil. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

Sybil  descended  the  last  few  stairs  with  her  head 
turned  sideways,  her  eyes  distended,  unnaturally  large, 
fixed  upon  Jermyn.  When  she  reached  the  hall  she 
seemed  to  steady  herself.  Then  she  came  slowly  to- 
wards the  threshold  of  the  library.  For  the  moment 
Jermyn  could  do  no  more  than  look  at  her.  She  was 
wearing  now  the  dress  she  had  worn  at  dinner-time. 
He  could  see  the  place  from  which  the  rosette  was  miss- 
ing. One  or  two  of  the  roses  were  hanging  limply  from 
her  brooch.  She  had  the  look  of  one  who  walks  in  her 
sleep. 

"  Sybil !  "  he  cried  softly. 

She  looked  into  his  eyes  and  he  shivered.  There  was 
some  new  thing  there,  something  which  seemed  to  raise 
a  wall  between  them.  She  came  slowly  on,  but  the 
hands  which  he  had  held  out  fell  to  his  side. 

"  Sybil ! "  he  cried  once  more. 

"  This  is  horrible !  "  she  whispered.  "  Let  me  come 
in.  I  am  afraid  to  stay  upstairs  any  longer." 

She  came  slowly  into  the  room.  Jermyn  closed  the 
door  after  her. 

"  Sybil,"  he  insisted  hoarsely,  "  tell  me  the  whole 
truth,  the  whole  story  —  everything  you  know  ?  I  must 
understand  exactly  what  you  are  going  to  say,  before 
these  men  come  to  ask  you  questions." 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      105 

She  began  to  tremble.  She  opened  her  lips  to  speak 
but  closed  them  again. 

"  Listen,"  Lucille  said,  "  listen,  both  of  you.  This 
is  a  critical  moment.  In  a  very  short  time  there  may 
be  people  here  before  whom  a  single  slip  might  mean  ir- 
retrievable disaster.  Sybil  Cluley,  remember  that  no 
one  save  I  myself  saw  you  trying  to  leave  the  house.  I 
have  forgotten  it.  You  have  put  thpse  clothes  back  in 
your  trunk  ?  " 

"  I  have  put  them  back,"  Sybil  agreed,  in  a  dull  tone. 

"  Very  good.  Now  listen  to  me  intently.  Remem- 
ber you  played  that  fifty  up  with  Lord  Lakenham.  You 
finished  the  game.  Your  head  ached.  You  made  an 
excuse  and  left  him.  You  went  straight  to  your  room. 
You  meant  to  take  some  phenacetin  and  come  down 
again.  He  was  practicing  cannons,  which  he  had  been 
trying  to  teach  you,  when  you  left.  He  was  alone. 
You  neither  saw  nor  heard  any  one  approaching  the 
room." 

Sybil  began  to  tremble.  She  looked  away  from 
Jermyn. 

"  I  neither  saw  nor  heard  any  one  approach,"  she 
repeated.  "  Lord  Lakenham  was  alone  when  I  left." 

Lucille  inclined  her  head. 

"  That  is  simple,"  she  said.  "  There  was  no  quarrel 
between  you  and  Lord  Lakenham,  no  disagreement  of 
any  sort." 

"  There  was  no  quarrel,"   Sybil  repeated. 

"  What  we  three  know,"  Lucille  went  on,  "  about 
that  little  paragraph  in  the  paper  which  recalled  a  cer- 
tain incident  to  Lord  Lakenham's  mind,  no  one  outside 
this  room  knows.  We  must  all  bear  that  in  mind. 
There  was  no  secret  understanding  between  you  and 


io6      THE   WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

Lord  Lakenham.  He  was  a  stranger  to  you.  You 
met  him  here  for  the  first  time." 

"  I  met  him  here  for  the  first  time,"  Sybil  repeated. 

"  You  parted  on  good  terms,  you  left  him  in  good 
spirits.  .  .  .  Now,  Jermyn,  listen  to  me.  You  were 
with  me  out  in  the  garden  most  of  the  time  when  Sybil 
was  playing  billiards  with  Lord  Lakenham.  You  came 
straight  from  the  garden  into  the  bridge-room.  Mr. 
Norden  Smith  found  you  there.  You  and  he  together 
went  to  the  billiard-room.  You  had  not  previously 
entered  it  since  dinner." 

"  I  had  not  been  near  it  since  dinner,"  Jermyn  re- 
peated. 

Sybil  was  standing  with  her  eyes  tightly  closed.  She 
was  swaying  a  little  on  her  feet.  Jermyn  almost  pushed 
her  into  a  chair  and  her  head  fell  forward  into  her 
hands. 

"  You  had  not  entered  the  billiard-room  since  dinner- 
time," Lucille  said  calmly.  "  You  entered  it  for  the 
first  time  with  Mr.  Norden  Smith.  You  found  Lord 
Lakenham  lying  there  in  his  present  condition.  There 
were  no  signs  of  a  struggle  there;  you  saw  no  weapon 
—  nothing.  The  affair  is  a  complete  mystery  to  you. 
That  is  all  quite  simple,  is  it  not  ?  " 

"  It  is  quite  simple." 

Lucille  held  her  head  for  a  moment. 

"  I  do  not  think  that  there  is  anything  which  I  have 
forgotten,"  she  said.  "  You  heard  the  front  door  bell? 
Those  are  the  men  from  Norwich,  I  suppose.  You  had 
better  let  them  ask  anybody  any  questions  they  wish  to. 
The  great  thing  for  us  three  to  remember  is  this.  We 
are  in  a  state  of  mystification.  We  have  no  idea  as  to 
who  shot  Lord  Lakenham.  If  he  recovers  and  makes 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      107 

a  statement,  that  is  a  matter  against  which,  of  course, 
we  cannot  guard.  Except  for  that  we  should  be  safe." 

Sybil  raised  her  head  slowly  and  looked  at  Jermyn. 
She  met  the  fiercely  questioning  look  in  his  eyes  without 
flinching. 

"  What,  in  God's  name  — "  he  began. 

Lucille's  arm  shot  out. 

"  Hush !  "  she  whispered  hoarsely.  "  Those  men  are 
in  the  hall.  They  will  be  shown  in  here.  Hush ! " 

There  was  a  tap  at  the  door  even  as  she  spoke.  The 
butler  entered.  He  made  his  way  to  Jermyn. 

"  There  is  a  police  inspector  here,  sir,"  he  announced 
in  an  undertone.  "  He  wishes  to  have  a  few  words  with 
you,  if  it  is  quite  convenient." 

Jermyn  nodded. 

"  I  will  come  out,"  he  said. 

The  two  women  were  left  alone.  Lucille  came  over 
and  stood  by  the  side  of  Sybil. 

"  My  dear  Miss  Cluley,"  she  remarked  dryly,  "  surely 
the  training  of  your  profession  should  stand  you  in  bet- 
ter stead  than  this !  Be  agitated,  if  you  like,  but  don't 
be  tragical.  Remember,  if  a  suspicion  is  once  planted, 
it  quickly  grows.  It  rests  with  you  to  see  that  it  is 
not  planted." 

The  police  inspector  was  very  civil  and  not  in  the 
least  officious.  Jermyn  took  him  at  once  into  the  bil- 
liard-room and  showed  him  as  nearly  as  he  could  how 
Lakenham  had  been  found. 

"  Nothing  in  the  room,"  the  inspector  asked,  "  has 
been  disturbed  ?  " 

"  Nothing  at  all,"  Jermyn  assured  him. 

"  Nothing  removed  from  the  floor,  for  instance  ?  " 

"  Nothing,"  Jermyn  repeated. 


io8      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

The  man  went  on  his  hands  and  knees  and  made  a 
searching  examination  of  the  whole  place. 

"  No  weapon  ?  "  he  inquired. 

"  I  have  not  seen  one,"  Jermyn  replied. 

The  inspector  locked  up  the  apartment  and  put  the 
key  in  his  pocket. 

"  If  quite  convenient,  Sir  Jermyn,"  he  said,  "  I 
should  be  glad  to  be  taken  upstairs  to  Lord  Lakenham's 
bedroom.  The  doctor  can  then  tell  me  if  there  is  any 
chance  of  his  lordship's  being  able  to  make  a  state- 
ment." 

Jermyn  accompanied  the  man  upstairs.  Lakenham 
had  been  taken  into  one  of  the  large  bedrooms  in  the 
east  wing,  which  was  approached  through  a  spacious 
sitting-room.  The  doctor  answered  their  soft  tap  at 
the  door  and  stepped  outside  at  once. 

"  This  is  Inspector  Holmes  from  Norwich,"  Jermyn 
explained.  "  He  is  anxious  just  to  have  a  word  with 
you." 

"  I  am  bound  to  ask  you  at  once,"  the  inspector  put 
it,  "  if  there  is  any  chance  of  Lord  Lakenham  being 
able  to  make  a  statement  shortly?  " 

"  I  cannot  say,"  the  doctor  answered.  "  He  is  alive 
but  unconscious.  The  wound  is  an  exceedingly  danger- 
ous one  and  his  situation  is  critical.  I  am  afraid  an 
operation  will  be  necessary  within  the  next  few  hours, 
but  from  what  I  can  gather  of  the  patient's  condition, 
I  must  confess  that  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  he  will 
survive  it.  I  am  expecting  Dr.  Fielden  from  Norwich 
in  a  very  few  minutes,  but  I  am  sure  he  will  only  con- 
firm what  I  am  telling  you." 

"  Has  his  lordship  spoken  at  all  ?  "  the  inspector  in- 
quired. 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      109 

"  Not  a  word." 

"  Have  any  of  his  clothes  been  removed  —  his  shirt, 
for  instance?  " 

"  I  have  put  the  shirt  on  one  side  for  you,"  the  doc- 
tor replied.  "  It  is  locked  up  in  a  chest  of  drawers 
here.  You  must  excuse  me  now.  I  dare  not  leave  my 
patient  any  longer." 

He  hurried  back  to  the  bedside.  The  inspector  and 
Jermyn  turned  away. 

"  Lord  Lakenham,  I  presume,  had  nothing  on  his 
mind?"  the  former  asked.  "He  was  not  in  the  least 
likely  to  have  committed  suicide?  " 

Jermyn  shook  his  head. 

"  The  idea  seems  preposterous,"  he  declared.  "  La- 
kenham was  in  excellent  spirits  all  day.  He  was  a  man 
who  thoroughly  enjoyed  life,  he  was  wealthy,  and,  so 
far  as  I  know,  he  had  no  troubles  of  any  sort.  His  was 
not  at  all  the  sort  of  morbid  disposition  one  associates 
with  the  victims  of  suicide." 

"  Who  was  the  last  person  who  saw  him  before  he 
was  shot?  " 

"  Miss  Cluley  —  Miss  Sybil  Cluley  —  the  young 
lady  who  is  engaged  to  be  my  wife,"  Jermyn  answered 
slowly.  "  She  was  playing  billiards  with  him,  but  she 
complained  of  a  headache  and  left  him  as  soon  as  the 
game  was  over." 

"  Could  I  have  a  few  words  with  her?  "  the  inspector 
suggested. 

"  Certainly,"  Jermyn  assured  him.  "  She  is  in  the 
library  now.  Mr.  Norden  Smith,  too,  the  gentleman 
who  was  with  me  when  we  discovered  Lord  Lakenham, 
is  still  here  in  case  he  is  required.  We  shall  find  him,  I 
think,  in  the  smoking-room." 


no      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

"  He  will  do  presently.  I  should  like  to  speak  to 
Miss  Cluley  first." 

Jermyn  led  the  way  into  the  library.  Sybil  was  sit- 
ting in  the  same  easy-chair,  in  very  much  the  same  at- 
titude. Lucille  had  apparently  been  standing  with  her 
elbow  upon  the  mantelpiece,  talking  to  her.  Both 
women  turned  their  heads  as  the  two  men  entered. 

"  Sybil,"  Jermyn  said,  closing  the  door  behind  him, 
"  I  am  sorry  but  the  inspector  wants  to  ask  just  one  or 
two  questions.  I  hope  you  won't  mind?  " 

"  No,  I  do  not  mind  at  all,"  she  replied. 

"  It  is  my  duty  to  make  a  report  of  this  affair,"  the 
inspector  explained,  with  a  slight  salute,  "  and  any  in- 
formation you  can  give  me  I  should  be  glad  to  have.  At 
the  same  time,  this  is  not  a  formal  inquiry,  and  it  is 
not  in  the  least  necessary  that  you  answer  any  ques- 
tions unless  you  care  to." 

Sybil's  eyebrows  were  slowly  raised.  She  seemed 
somehow  to  have  completely  recovered  her  self-pos- 
session. 

"  If  I  can  be  of  any  assistance,  I  am  sure  you  are 
welcome  to  all  the  knowledge  I  possess  of  the  affair." 

The  inspector  bowed. 

"  As  the  last  person  who  saw  Lord  Lakenham  before 
he  was  shot,  madame,"  he  said,  "  your  evidence  will,  of 
course,  be  of  importance." 

"  All  that  I  can  tell  you,"  Sybil  continued,  "  seems 
very  unimportant  and  I  am  afraid  it  will  not  help  much. 
You  can  hear  it  now,  or  any  one  can  hear  it  at  any  time 
they  choose.  I  played  billiards  with  Lord  Lakenham 
after  dinner,  as  I  do  not  care  for  bridge.  We  had  quite 
a  cheerful  game  and  Lord  Lakenham  was  all  the  time 
in  the  highest  spirits.  We  talked  and  laughed  so  much, 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      in 

indeed,  that  when  the  game  was  over  I  had  quite  a  bad 
headache,  so  I  went  up  to  my  room,  meaning  to  take 
some  phenacetin  and  come  down  again.  I  left  Lord 
Lakenham  practicing  cannons.  That  is  all  that  I  know 
about  the  matter." 

"  There  was,  then,  no  quarrel  between  you  ?  " 

"  Quarrel  ?  "  Sybil  repeated.  "  Lord  Lakenham  was 
much  too  gallant  a  man,  I  can  assure  you,  to  quarrel 
with  a  lady." 

"  There  was  no  misunderstanding,  or  anything  of 
that  sort?" 

"  Miss  Cluley  is  engaged  to  marry  me,"  Jermyn  inter- 
vened. "  Her  acquaintance  with  Lord  Lakenham  is  of 
the  slightest.  She  has  known  him,  in  fact,  for  barely 
twenty-four  hours." 

The  inspector  made  a  note  or  two  in  his  book. 

"  For  the  sake  of  formality,"  he  persisted,  "  I  should 
like  you  to  answer  my  question.  I  am  taking  it  that 
there  was  nothing  in  the  nature  of  a  quarrel  or  dis- 
agreement between  you  and  Lord  Lakenham?  " 

"  I  have  already  assured  you,"  Sybil  repeated  calmly, 
"  that  there  was  nothing  of  the  sort." 

"  You  played  one  game  of  billiards  and  after  its  com- 
pletion went  upstairs.  A  game  of  fifty  or  a  hundred 
up?" 

"  A  game  of  fifty  up." 

The  inspector  closed  his  book. 

"  If  you  would  excuse  me  for  one  moment,"  he  said, 
"  I  will  return." 

Jermyn  moved  forward. 

"  Shall  I  — " 

"  If  you  will  allow  me,  sir,  I  will  go  alone,"  the  in- 
spector interrupted. 


H2      THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

He  crossed  the  hall  and  they  heard  him  enter  the 
billiard-room.  In  a  moment  or  two  he  was  back,  hav- 
ing carefully  locked  the  door  behind  him. 

"  You  say,  Miss  Cluley,  that  you  played  Lord  Laken- 
ham  a  game  of  billiards,  fifty  up,  and  that  you  finished 
the  game  amicably  and  went  upstairs.  The  score  on 
the  marking  board  at  present  is  twenty-eight  and  thirty. 
How  do  you  account  for  that  if  the  game  was  finished 
and  if  it  was  a  fifty  up  ?  " 

Sybil  looked  straight  into  the  man's  eyes.  There  was 
a  perceptible  pause  before  she  spoke.  Jermyn  felt  his 
heart  beating  fast.  Was  she  really  thinking  —  think- 
ing out  her  answer? 

"  Lord  Lakenham  agreed  to  give  me  twenty  points,'* 
she  said  slowly.  "  We  omitted  to  put  them  on  at  the 
commencement  of  the  game.  Therefore,  when  I  had 
reached  thirty  I  had  won." 

There  was  a  brief  silence  in  the  room.  Somehow,  the 
cold  preciseness  of  Sybil's  answers  was  terrifying 
Jermyn.  Perhaps,  notwithstanding  all  that  he  felt  for 
her,  some  such  thought  was  in  his  mind  as  the  inspector 
presently  expressed. 

"  You  are,  I  believe,  an  actress,  madame?  "  the  latter 
asked. 

"  That  is  my  profession,"  she  admitted. 

"  And  I  think  I  understood  from  Sir  Jermyn  An- 
nerley  that  Lord  Lakenham  was  a  stranger  to  you  when 
you  met  him  here?" 

"  Entirely." 

"  He  had  said  nothing  during  the  evening  which  had 
led  you  to  believe  that  he  was  in  any  sort  of  trouble  or 
distress?  " 

"  On  the  contrary,"   Sybil  declared,  "  he   seemed  in 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      113 

the  highest  of  spirits.  He  grumbled  because  I  would 
not  play  again,  but  directly  he  understood  that  my 
headache  was  really  painful,  he  made  no  further  attempt 
to  keep  me." 

"  Do  you,  Sir  Jermyn,  or  you,  Miss  Cluley,  or  you, 
madame,"  the  inspector  continued,  turning  to  Lucille, 
"  know  of  any  other  person  who  did  enter  or  could  have 
entered  the  billiard-room  between  the  time  of  Miss 
Cluley's  leaving  it  and  your  discovery  of  this  ac- 
cident?" 

They  all  replied  in  the  negative.  The  inspector 
closed  his  book  finally. 

"  I  trust  that  my  questions  have  not  been  offensive," 
he  said,  a  little  apologetically.  "  It  is  not  my  duty  to 
enter  upon  a  complete  cross-examination.  I  have  only 
to  ask  the  obvious  questions  which  might  lead  to  the 
truth  being  discovered  before  any  time  has  been  allowed 
to  intervene.  Perhaps  it  would  be  as  well  now,  Sir 
Jermyn,  if  I  had  a  word  with  the  gentleman  who  was 
with  you  when  you  entered  the  billiard-room." 

"  Shall  you  require  to  speak  to  these  ladies  again  ?  " 
Jermyn  inquired.  "  If  not,  I  daresay  they  would  be 
glad  to  retire." 

"  Certainly  not,  sir,"  the  inspector  replied.  "  I  shall 
leave  my  two  men  here,  if  you  will  permit  me,  until  I 
have  reported  this  matter  at  headquarters,  and  it  would 
perhaps  be  as  well  if  no  one  left  the  house  for  more 
than  a  slight  expedition,  at  the  immediate  present." 

"  There  is  no  one,  I  am  sure,"  Jermyn  declared,  "  who 
proposes  leaving  it.  If  you  will  come  this  way,  then." 

The  inspector  turned  towards  Lucille  and  Sybil.  He 
glanced  at  Lucille  but  it  was  Sybil  upon  whom  his 
eyes  rested. 


ii4      THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

"  I  am  sorry  to  have  had  to  trouble  you,  madame," 
he  said.  "  I  wish  you  good  night." 

Sybil  looked  at  him  unfalteringly.  There  was  no 
smile  upon  her  lips,  but  she  inclined  her  head  slightly. 

"  Good  night !  "  she  answered. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

Once  more  the  inspector  and  Jermyn  crossed  the  hall 
and  this  time  entered  the  smoking-room.  Mr.  Norden 
Smith,  with  a  very  large  cigar  in  his  mouth  and  a 
whisky-and-soda  by  his  side,  was  lying  stretched  out 
upon  one  easy-chair  with  his  legs  in  another.  He  rose 
with  a  little  apology  as  the  door  opened. 

"  Say,  I  hope  you'll  forgive  my  making  myself  com- 
fortable," he  said  to  his  host.  "  You  told  me  to  ring 
for  anything  I  wanted.  That  affair  gave  me  quite  a 
nasty  shock.  Is  there  any  change  in  his  lordship's  con- 
dition?" 

"  None  at  present,"  Jermyn  answered.  "  I  am  very 
glad  indeed  that  you  have  been  looking  after  yourself. 
This,"  he  added,  turning  to  the  inspector,  "  is  Mr. 
Norden  Smith.  He  had  called  to  see  Lord  Lakenham 
and  was  shown  into  the  library,  where  we  were  all  play- 
ing bridge,  by  my  butler.  I  took  him  to  the  billiard- 
room,  with  the  result  you  know  of." 

"  Did  you  notice  any  signs  of  a  struggle,  or  any 
traces  in  the  room  of  the  recent  presence  of  any  other 
person,  excepting,  of  course,  Miss  Cluley,  sir?  "  the  in- 
spector asked. 

Mr.  Norden  Smith  shook  his  head  negatively. 

"  There  was  nothing  unusual  whatever  to  be  ob- 
served," he  replied,  "  with  the  exception,  of  course,  of 


u6      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

Lord  Lakenham's  position  and  condition.  I  may  add." 
he  went  on,  "  that  I  am  a  criminal  lawyer  myself  and 
have  a  quick  eye  for  details.  Directly  I  saw  the  brown 
rim  round  the  bullet  mark  on  the  shirt,  I  decided  that 
it  was  a  case  of  suicide." 

"  May  I  inquire,"  the  inspector  proceeded,  "  the 
nature  of  your  business  with  Lord  Lakenham  ?  " 

"  I  hadn't  any  business  with  him  at  all,"  Mr.  Nor  den 
Smith  confessed.  "  He  stayed  with  us  in  New  York 
only  a  month  or  so  ago.  We  entertained  him  once  or 
twice,  and  when  he  heard  that  I  was  coming  to  Eng- 
land this  summer  he  made  me  promise  I'd  look  him 
up.  Quite  a  good  fellow,  Lord  Lakenham,  and  we  en- 
joyed taking  him  round  very  much  indeed.  I  happened 
to  be  spending  the  night  at  the  inn  here,  and  heard  that 
he  was  staying  with  Sir  Jermyn,  so  I  telephoned  over. 
Sir  Jermyn  was  kind  enough  to  ask  me  to  dinner  but  I 
had  some  mail  to  look  after,  so  I  told  him  I'd  come 
round  afterwards." 

"  You  say  that  you  are  staying  at  the  inn,"  the  in- 
spector asked.  "  Isn't  this  rather  an  out-of-the-way 
place  for  a  casual  visitor?  " 

"  I  am  on  a  motoring  tour,  doing  all  the  cathedral 
cities  of  England,"  Mr.  Norden  Smith  explained. 
"  Ecclesiastical  architecture  is  a  bit  of  a  hobby  with 
me.  I've  done  the  west  coast.  I  was  at  Norwich  this 
morning  and  I  meant  to  get  as  far  as  Lynn  to-night.  I 
had  bad  tire  trouble  all  the  way  from  Norwich  here  and 
finally  I  got  sick  of  it.  The  Annerley  Arms  looked 
very  comfortable,  so  I  put  up  there  and  set  my  man  to 
work  to  put  on  new  covers.  I  am  on  my  way  to  Lin- 
coln and  Durham." 

"  Did  I  understand,  Sir  Jermyn,"  the  inspector  in- 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      117 

quired,  "  that  Mr.  Norden  Smith  was  shown  into  the 
library  by  your  butler?  " 

"  That  is  so,"  Jermyn  assented. 

"  The  same  servant  who  admitted  Mr.  Norden  Smith 
at  the  front  door?  " 

"  I  believe  so,"  Jermyn  replied.  "  Such  would  nat- 
urally be  the  case.  It  is  quite  easy  to  find  out." 

"  The  matter  would  be  finished  up,"  the  inspector 
said  apologetically,  "  if  I  might  just  ask  the  ques- 
tion." 

Jermyn  rang  the  bell.  The  butler  himself  answered 
the  summons. 

"  Roberts, — "  Jermyn  began. 

The  inspector  intervened. 

"Will  you  allow  me,  sir?  It  is  quite  an  unimpor- 
tant question  but  it  is  more  in  order  for  me  to  ask  it 
myself.  Your  name  is  Roberts  ?  " 

"Yes,  sir!" 

"  You  showed  this  gentleman  into  the  bridge-room 
this  evening.  Did  you  also  admit  him  at  the  front 
door?  " 

"Yes,  sir!" 

"  He  asked  for  Lord  Lakenham  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir !  " 

"  Did  you  know  that  Lord  Lakenham  was  in  the 
billiard-room?  " 

"  I  believed  that  he  was,  sir,"  the  butler  replied,  "  be- 
cause I  had  served  coffee  there.  In  any  case,  though, 
it  seemed  more  in  order  to  show  the  gentleman  first 
into  the  room  where  Sir  Jermyn  was." 

"  And  so  you  took  him  there  direct  from  the  front 
door?  " 

"Certainly,  sir." 


n8      THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

The  inspector  nodded. 

"  That  is  all  that  I  wish  to  know  from  you.  By 
the  way,  though,  you  say  that  you  served  coffee  in  the 
billiard-room  ?  " 

"Yes,  sir!" 

"  To  Lord  Lakenham  and  Miss  Cluley  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir !  His  lordship  also  took  a  liqueur 
brandy." 

"  They  were  alone  at  the  time?51 

"Yes,  sir!" 

"Playing  billiards?" 

"Yes,  sir!" 

"  Did  they  seem  interested  in  the  game  ?  " 

"  Certainly,  sir.  His  lordship  was  showing  Miss 
Cluley  how  to  hold  the  rest  when  I  entered.  I  had 
to  wait  with  the  coffee  tray  until  she  had  finished  her 
stroke." 

Once  more  the  inspector  closed  his  book,  and  obey- 
ing a  gesture  from  his  master  Roberts  disappeared. 

"  It  will  not  be  necessary  for  you  to  interrupt  your 
journey,  sir,"  the  inspector  remarked,  turning  to  Mr. 
Norden  Smith.  "  If  you  will  permit  me,  though," 
he  added,  turning  to  Jermyn,  "  in  case  the  ladies  should 
not  have  retired  I  should  rather  like  to  ask  Miss  Cluley 
one  more  question." 

Jermyn  frowned  a  little  impatiently. 

"  If  you  are  quite  sure  that  it  is  essential,"  he  said. 
"  You  can  understand,  I  am  sure,  how  terribly  up- 
set Miss  Cluley  naturally  is." 

"  It  is  simply,"  the  inspector  explained,  "  with  a 
view  to  making  things  easier  later  on.  It  is  a  subject 
I  should  have  alluded  to  before  but  I  must  confess  that 
it  slipped  my  memory." 


Jermyn  led  him  back  once  more  into  the  library. 
Lucille  and  Sybil  were  still  there.  At  the  opening  of 
the  door  they  both  started.  Jermyn  hurried  over  to 
Sybil's  side  and  drew  her  hand  through  his  arm. 

"  It  is  too  bad  to  worry  you,  I  know,  dear,"  he  said, 
"  but  the  inspector  wishes  to  ask  one  more  question. 
Perhaps  it  is  just  as  well  for  him  to  get  them  over. 
It  is  something  which  he  had  forgotten." 

"  I  wish  to  ask,"  the  inspector  interposed,  "  whether 
you,  Miss  Cluley,  had  seen  Lord  Lakenham  in  pos- 
session of  any  sort  of  a  pistol  during  the  evening?  " 

She  shook  her  head. 

"  Most  certainly  not." 

"  Do  you  possess  a  pistol  yourself  ?  " 

"  Yes ! " 

The  inspector  looked  up  quickly. 

"  May  I  ask  where  it  is  ?  " 

She  smiled  faintly. 

"  It  is  among  my  properties  at  the  Imperial 
Theatre,"  she  replied,  distinctly.  "  It  has  never  had 
any  cartridges,  nor  am  I  sure  that  I  know  how  to  use 
it." 

"  You  haven't  it  with  you  here,  then  ?  "  the  inspector 
persisted. 

"  Didn't  I  make  that  clear?  "  she  asked.  "  So  far 
as  I  know,  it  has  never  been  out  of  my  dressing-room 
in  the  Imperial  Theatre.  It  was  most  certainly  there 
when  I  left  London.  It  is  certainly  there  now." 

The  inspector  saluted  the  two  ladies. 

"  Then  it  is  very  certain,  madam,"  he  declared, 
"  that  it  is  of  no  interest  to  us  in  our  present  investiga- 
tion. I  am  sorry  to  have  had  to  trouble  you  again. 
I  wish  you  both  good  night." 


120      THE   WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

Jermyn  led  him  out  into  the  hall. 

"  This  is  a  very  extraordinary  affair,  sir,"  the  man 
remarked.  "  May  I  ask  a  question  which  you  may 
perhaps  think  a  little  unwarranted  at  the  present 
juncture?  " 

"  You  may  ask  anything  you  like,"  Jermyn  an- 
swered. 

"  Do  you  know  any  one  in  this  house,  sir,  who  has 
any  cause  for  enmity  against  his  lordship  ?  " 

"  Absolutely  no  one,"  Jermyn  replied.  "  Lakenham 
was  an  easy-going,  good-natured  sort  of  fellow,  with- 
out violent  likes  or  dislikes,  a  man  who  was  quite  con- 
tent, too,  to  lead  the  ordinary  life  of  pleasure.  I 
can't  conceive  why  he  should  have  had  an  enemy,  and 
I  can't  think  it  possible  that  he  could  have  had  one 
under  this  roof." 

"  I  trust  that  you  will  not  take  exception  to  any 
arrangements  which  I  feel  it  to  be  my  duty  to  make," 
the  inspector  continued.  "  You  see,  the  circumstances 
of  this  case  are  very  peculiar.  Suicide  seems  a  strange 
theory  in  any  case,  and  the  fact  that  no  weapon  was 
discovered  by  the  side  of  the  body  seems  to  dispose 
of  that  theory  altogether.  I  am  compelled,  therefore, 
to  regard  it  as  a  case  of  murder." 

Jermyn  shivered  a  little.  It  was  a  hackneyed  word 
enough,  but  in  his  own  house,  concerning  his  own  kins- 
man, with  those  whom  he  loved  so  closely  involved,  it 
seemed  to  possess  a  new  and  more  hideous  significance. 

"  I  am  now,"  the  inspector  went  on,  "  going  to  make 
a  thorough  search  of  the  apartment  and  of  the  gardens 
outside.  I  prefer  to  do  this  by  myself.  I  shall  then 
return  to  Norwich  and  make  my  report.  I  am  com- 
pelled to  leave  one  of  my  men  upstairs,  in  or  near  the 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      121 

apartment  where  Lord  Lakenham  is  lying.  The  other 
one  I  must  leave  in  the  billiard-room.  You  will  un- 
derstand, I  am  sure,  the  necessity  for  such  steps." 

"  I  am  quite  convinced,  Mr.  Inspector,"  Jermyn  re- 
plied, "  that  you  will  do  what  you  conceive  to  be  your 
duty.  Our  only  concern  must  be  to  help  you  in  every 
possible  way.  If  you  will  ring  the  bell  as  soon  as  you 
have  finished  your  examination  of  the  billiard-room, 
Roberts  will  be  glad  to  bring  you  any  refreshments 
you  may  care  for." 

"  I  am  much  obliged,  sir." 

"  And  if  you  do  discover  anything,"  Jermyn  con- 
tinued, suggestively, — 

"  If  I  should  make  any  discoveries,  or  come  upon 
anything  likely  to  indicate  a  clew,"  the  inspector  inter- 
vened, "  I  am  afraid  that  at  this  stage  of  the  pro- 
ceedings I  must  keep  it  entirely  to  myself.  The  chief 
constable  will  probably  be  over  to-morrow  morning 
early,  sir,  and  I  am  sure  he  will  be  glad  to  discuss  the 
matter  with  you.  Good  night,  sir ! " 

Jermyn  hurried  back  to  the  library.  Lucille  was 
there  alone. 

"  Where  is  Sybil  ?  "  he  asked  quickly. 

"  She  has  gone  to  her  room,"  Lucille  replied,  com- 
ing to  his  side  and  drawing  her  arm  through  his. 
"  Jermyn  dear,  you  must  sit  down  and  rest  for  a  little 
time.  I  have  told  Roberts  to  put  the  decanters  on 
the  sideboard.  Please  give  me  something  to  drink 
and  help  yourself." 

Jermyn  seemed  scarcely  to  hear  her. 

"  Gone  to  her  room !  "  he  repeated.  "  I  want  to 
speak  to  her.  I  must  speak  to  her.  I  can't  bear 
this  any  longer.  I  am  going  to  hold  her  hands  and 


122      THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

pull  that  wall  down.  She  is  going  to  tell  me  every- 
thing and  I  am  going  to  tell  her  that  whatever  she 
did  was  right." 

She  forced  him  into  a  chair  and  sat  at  his  feet. 

"  Jermyn  dear,"  she  insisted,  "  you  must  please  be 
guided  by  me  for  a  very  short  time.  You  are  not 
yourself  when  you  talk  like  that.  Sybil  went  through 
her  examination  beautifully.  You  and  I  between  us 
will  keep  any  harm  away  from  her,  but  we  can  only 
succeed  if  you  keep  down  those  wild  impulses  of  yours 
and  act  like  a  rational  human  being.  There  is  plenty 
of  time  in  the  future  for  understandings.  For  the 
next  few  days,  what  we  have  to  do  is  to  keep  her  safe." 

Jermyn  sprang  suddenly  to  his  feet. 

"  This  is  all  sophistry ! "  he  cried.  "  The  truth  is 
always  best.  I  shall  go  to  her  now.  I  don't  care 
what  the  result  may  be.  If  she  killed  Aynesworth, 
she  did  it  in  self-defense.  The  fellow  had  drunk  too 
much  wine.  He  had  probably  insulted  her.  It  served 
him  right.  It  would  be  better  for  her,  even  now,  to 
tell  the  truth  and  have  done  with  it,  better  to  face 
her  trial  and  what  may  happen  to  her,  than  that  she 
should  carry  this  load  about  with  her  all  her  life.  I  will 
go  to  her  room.  I  will  make  her  talk  with  me  at  once." 

Already  he  was  on  his  way  towards  the  door. 

"  Stop !  "  Lucille  called  out. 

There  was  a  quality  in  her  voice  which  commanded 
his  attention.  He  turned  unwillingly  around. 

"  A  single  word  of  what  you  have  said  overheard 
by  that  man  in  the  billiard-room,"  Lucille  said  softly, 
"  would  mean,  what  do  you  think  —  for  Sybil  ?  It 
would  mean  an  ignominious  and  awful  death.  Don't 
look  at  me  as  though  I  were  mad.  Be  a  man,  Jermyn, 


THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN      123 

and  face  facts.  Sybil  killed  Aynes worth  not  in  self- 
defense  but  because  he  threatened  to  disclose  a  little 
chapter  of  her  past  which  she  feared  would  have  ended 
her  relations  with  you.  That  is  the  honest,  the  abso- 
lute truth.  Very  likely  she  only  meant  to  frighten  him. 
Certainly  it  was  only  an  impulse.  But  she  killed  him. 
It  is  hard  for  you  to  realize  it  to-night,  but  as  the 
days  go  on  you  will  know  it  and  understand.  If  you 
go  to  her  now,  she  is  half  distraught,  she  will  listen 
to  what  you  have  to  say;  she  is  ready  to  take  any 
advice.  She  will  go  downstairs  to  that  man.  She  will 
say  —  *  It  is  true.  I  killed  Lord  Lakenham.  He 
threatened  to  take  a  mean  advantage  of  certain  .knowl- 
edge which  he  possessed.  I  meant  to  frighten  him 
into  silence.  I  lost  my  temper.  I  pulled  the  trigger 
of  that  pistol.  It  was  such  a  little  thing.  I  never 
dreamed  that  it  would  kill  him ! '  To  her  she  may 
seem  to  be  justifying  herself.  Before  her  own  con- 
science she  may  seem  justified.  To  you  and  to  me, 
even,  she  may  seem  justified.  But  the  law  will  not 
think  so.  The  law  will  hang  her!  .  .  .  Be  careful, 
Jermyn.  If  you  do  a  rash  thing  to-night,  you  may 
spend  the  rest  of  your  life  regretting  it." 

The  impulse  died  away.  Lucille's  words  seemed  to 
burn  themselves  into  his  brain.  He  came  back  into 
the  room.  She  stole  softly  to  his  side. 

"  Jermyn,"  she  whispered,  "  be  brave,  dear.  She 
shall  be  saved.  For  your  sake,  I  will  save  her." 


CHAPTER  XV 

Up  in  the  skies,  the  stars  which  had  made  the  sum- 
mer night  so  brilliant  were  beginning  to  pale,  to  fade 
away  in  a  nebulous  and  airy  waste.  The  deep  yellow 
glow  was  passing  from  the  face  of  the  moon.  Jermyn, 
who  was  standing  motionless  behind  a  thick  clump  of 
laurel  bushes,  turned  his  head  and  gazed  eastwards. 
Surely  those  terrible  hours  must  soon  pass !  As  yet, 
however,  there  was  no  break  in  the  clouds.  The  great 
white  house  with  its  rows  of  dead  windows  seemed  it- 
self to  have  borrowed  from  the  solemnity  and  mystery 
of  the  passing  moments.  Forty  silent,  unblinking 
eyes  gazed  out  upon  a  world  of  opalescent  hues  and 
shadows. 

One,  two,  three,  four!  The  brazen  notes  of  the 
stable  clock  seemed  like  an  incongruous  note  from  some 
alien  world.  Jermyn,  from  behind  his  ambush  of 
laurel  bushes,  stiffened  suddenly  and  leaned  forward. 
His  eyes  were  fixed  upon  a  certain  window,  Sybil's 
window,  the  fourth  from  the  left  on  the  second  story 
of  the  house.  He  was  all  the  time  expecting  some- 
thing, yet  expecting  it  with  a  sense  of  excitement  which 
in  that  strange  solitude  he  took  no  pains  to  conceal. 
A  thrush  hopped  out  on  to  the  dew-soaked  lawn,  a 
faint  breeze  rustled  among  the  leaves  of  the  trees ;  the 
deathly  silence  was  broken.  And  almost  simultane- 
ously the  still  monotony  of  those  rows  of  windows  was 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      125 

changed.  A  faint  light  glimmered  in  the  one  which 
he  was  watching.  It  was  moving  about  in  the  room. 
It  proceeded  obviously  from  some  one  carrying  a 
candle.  Jermyn  waited  only  for  a  few  seconds  and 
then  deserted  his  post  with  swift  and  silent  footsteps. 
He  threaded  the  narrow  path  which  ran  through  the 
back  of  the  shrubberies  and  pursued  it  until  he  reached 
the  side  of  the  house.  There  he  came  once  more  to 
a  standstill.  As  before,  it  was  one  window  only  which 
he  watched  —  the  third  from  the  left,  the  window  of 
the  anteroom  adjoining  Lord  Lakenham's  bedchamber. 
When  he  arrived  there,  it  was  as  all  the  others  in  the 
front,  blank  and  lifeless,  in  almost  startling  contrast 
to  the  steady  glow  from  the  windows  of  the  bedchamber 
itself.  Jermyn  stood  there  waiting  and  almost  holding 
his  breath.  The  seconds  dragged  by,  tearing  at  his 
nerves  with  an  actual  and  physical  pain.  Then  he  saw 
the  thing  for  which  he  had  been  waiting.  The  light 
from  Sybil's  room  was  repeated  in  the  window  which 
he  was  watching.  It  gleamed  there  only  for  a  mo- 
ment. Some  one  had  passed  by  the  window,  holding  a 
candle. 

His  vigil  was  over.  Keeping  still  in  the  shadow  of 
the  house,  Jermyn  walked  along  a  narrow  margin  of 
turf  for  some  dozen  yards  or  so.  Then  he  stopped 
short,  pushed  back  the  windows  of  his  library  and 
stepped  in.  He  turned  up  with  steady  fingers  the 
lamp,  which  had  been  burning  low.  It  seemed  to  him 
that  his  last  faint  hope  had  passed.  Sybil  had  gone 
to  the  rooms  of  the  dying  man  to  plead  for  her  life! 
Even  in  the  face  of  the  tragedy  which  was  beating  it- 
self out  through  the  slow  seconds  of  the  night,  he 
found  himself  tortured  with  maddening  thoughts  of 


126      THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

the  secret  which  the  dying  man  was  to  carry  with  him 
to  the  grave. 

The  seconds  ticked  on  into  minutes.  After  the 
tenseness  of  the  last  few  hours,  a  curious  inertness 
seemed  to  have  seized  upon  Jermyn.  He  stood  upon 
the  threshold  of  the  open  windows  and  looked  out  once 
more  into  the  gardens.  Already,  since  he  had  left, 
there  were  signs  of  a  change.  The  thrushes  were  be- 
ginning to  sing,  a  faint  blue  coloring  hung  over  the 
tree-tops.  In  the  east  there  was  a  glimmering  line  of 
rose-pink  merging  into  mauve.  All  manners  of  birds 
were  twittering  in  the  shrubbery ;  a  breath  of  wind 
brought  him  a  delicious  wave  of  perfume  from  the  rose 
gardens.  Jermyn  sighed  as  he  turned  away.  It  was, 
without  doubt,  a  beautiful  world. 

Once  more  the  stable  clock  clanged  out.  Jermyn 
fastened  the  windows  of  his  room  and  turned  out  the 
lamp.  Then  he  slowly  opened  the  door  and  crossed 
the  hall.  A  light  had  been  left  burning  there  but  it 
was  almost  out.  The  place  seemed  full  of  unseen 
spaces  and  the  great  staircase  was  only  dimly  visible. 
Very  slowly  Jermyn  ascended. 

He  reached  the  second  landing  and  turned  to  the 
right,  making  his  way  down  a  broad  corridor.  On 
either  side  of  him  were  closed  doors ;  everywhere  around, 
the  mysterious  silence  of  sleep.  A  former  master  of 
the  house  had  collected  statuary,  and  from  several  of  the 
small  recesses  in  the  walls,  the  white,  chiseled  faces 
gleamed  down  upon  him.  Noiselessly  he  passed  on. 
About  half-way  down  the  corridor  was  a  turning  to  the 
left,  and  as  he  neared  it  he  became  conscious  of  a 
little  current  of  air.  He  moved  even  more  cautiously. 
He  came  at  last  to  a  complete  standstill.  There  was 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      127 

a  short  passage,  a  window  which  stood  wide  open,  and 
a  small  balcony.  On  the  balcony  Lucille  was  stand- 
ing. 

For  several  seconds  he  remained  motionless.  She 
stood  with  her  back  to  him,  looking  out  over  the  gar- 
dens, looking  towards  the  laurel  bushes  behind  which  he 
had  spent  a  portion  of  the  night.  Jermyn  made  no 
sound,  even  his  breathing  was  almost  inaudible,  yet 
Lucille,  seemingly  conscious  of  his  presence,  slowly 
turned  her  head.  In  that  strange  light  before  the 
dawn  her  face  seemed  paler  than  ever,  paler,  even, 
than  those  marble  statues.  There  was  life  only  in  the 
distended  eyes  and  the  parted  lips. 

"  You !  "  she  whispered. 

He  moved  slowly  towards  her.  He  stood  by  her 
side  upon  the  little  stone  balcony. 

"Yes,  it  is  I,  Lucille,"  he  said.     "Listen!" 

He  caught  her  disengaged  hand;  the  other  was  grip- 
ping the  rail  of  the  balcony.  For  a  few  seconds  they 
stood  so,  their  faces  turned  towards  the  main  corridor. 
There  was  no  sound  to  be  heard.  Lucille  sighed. 
Already  her  first  terror  seemed  to  be  passing. 

"  You  have  not  been  to  bed,"  she  murmured,  glan- 
cing at  his  attire. 

"  How  could  one  sleep,"  he  answered,  "  on  such  a 
night!" 

She  looked  down  at  the  dew  upon  his  patent  shoes 
and  at  the  splashes  of  wet  upon  his  coat. 

"  You  have  been  out ! "  she  explained. 

"  In  the  gardens,  only." 

"  Watching?  " 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders.  His  face  was  utterly 
expressionless. 


128      THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

"  What  should  I  watch  fo??  "  he  muttered.  "  Is 
there  anything  which  we  do  not  know?  " 

She  leaned  forward  and  looked  along  the  front  of 
the  house.  She  looked  at  the  window  which  was  fourth 
from  the  end.  It  was  within  a  few  yards  of  them. 
There  was  something  significant  in  her  look,  but  after 
his  first  shivering  apprehension  of  it  he  turned  his 
head  and  gazed  away  over  the  tree-tops. 

"  The  dawn  comes,"  he  reminded  her.  "  Soon  the 
servants  will  be  astir." 

She  drew  her  rose-colored  dressing-gown  a  little 
closer  around  her. 

"  You  are  right,"  she  said ;  "  I  must  go.  I  could 
not  sleep  —  the  whole  thing  is  too  awful.  I  am  not 
sure,  Jermyn,  whether  I  am  doing  right." 

"What  do  you  mean?"  he  asked,  hoarsely. 

She  held  up  her  finger.  They  both  of  them  seemed 
transformed  into  the  likeness  of  stone  images.  Their 
faces  were  turned  towards  the  corridor.  The  woman's 
hand  gripped  the  rail  of  the  balcony  more  tightly 
than  ever.  Without  a  doubt,  the  sound  which  they 
both  heard  was  the  sound  of  soft  footsteps  and  the 
trailing  of  a  light  gown.  Almost  they  held  their 
breaths.  The  footsteps  came  nearer  and  nearer. 
Without  turning  her  head,  Sybil  passed  along  the  cor- 
ridor, Sybil  in  a  long  white  dressing-gown,  her  fair  hair 
bound  up  with  white  ribbon.  She  was  gone  in  a  mo- 
ment. She  passed  without  looking  to  the  right  or 
to  the  left,  without  any  consciousness  of  the  man  and 
woman  who  watched.  The  sound  of  her  footsteps 
ceased.  The  door  of  her  room  was  softly  opened  and 
closed.  Lucille  shrugged  her  shoulders  very  slightly. 
She  gazed  into  her  companion's  face. 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      129 

"  You  knew  that  she  had  been  to  him? "  she 
whispered. 

"I  knew!" 

"  You  watched  from  the  gardens  ?  " 

He  pointed  below. 

"  I  was  behind  those  laurel  bushes  for  more  than  two 
hours,"  he  said.  "  I  saw  the  light  in  her  window ;  I 
saw  it  again  flash  as  she  passed  through  the  anteroom." 

"  One  cannot  help  but  pity  her,"  Lucille  murmured. 
"  Think  of  the  agony  of  her  night !  It  was  her  one 
hope  —  she  went  to  plead  for  his  silence.  If  he  re- 
covers consciousness,  Jermyn,  do  you  believe  that  he 
will  tell  the  truth  before  he  dies  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  know,"  he  answered.  "  How  could  any 
one  tell  what  a  man  in  his  state  would  do?  " 

Lucille  drew  her  dressing-gown  around  her  and 
shivered.  The  sky  in  the  east  was  red  now  and  the 
dew  lay  upon  the  lawns  like  frost.  In  the  woods  which 
stretched  away  from  the  house,  the  thrushes  were  sing- 
ing. The  stable  clock  clanged  again. 

"  It  is  morning,"  he  said. 

She  laid  her  fingers  upon  his  arm.  Her  face  was 
very  close  to  his.  Her  expression  had  softened.  In 
this  strange,  ghostly  light  she  was  beautiful  in  a  weird, 
witchlike  way  of  her  own. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  about  Sybil  in  the  fu- 
ture ?  "  she  demanded,  under  her  breath.  "  I  ask  you 
because  I  must  know." 

Again  he  shook  his  head. 

"  For  two  hours  last  night,  in  my  study,"  he  said 
slowly,  "  I  asked  myself  that  question.  Down  there 
among  the  laurel  bushes  I  watched  the  moon  rise  above 
the  trees  and  I  saw  it  grow  pale,  and  I  asked  myself 


130      THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

nothing  but  that  one  question.  I  do  not  know  —  in- 
deed, Lucille,  I  do  not  know." 

She  took  his  arm.  Together  they  looked  out  upon 
this  strange,  fantastic  world  of  trees  and  shadows,  of 
landscape  hung  with  a  mauve  light. 

"  Do  you  remember,"  she  whispered,  "  when  we  were 
motoring  in  the  Black  Forest  in  August,  you  and  I 
and  my  mother?  You  drove  all  through  the  night  to 
avoid  the  heat,  and  she  slept.  It  was  something  like 
this.  We  had  first  the  moonlight  and  then  the  spectral 
light,  the  lavender  and  gray  twilight.  There  was  just 
this  same  chilly  feeling  before  the  sunrise.  I  asked 
you  a  question  then." 

"  I  remember,"  he  answered,  uneasily. 

"  It  is  when  the  world  sleeps  that  one  can  think," 
she  went  on.  "  Can't  you  feel  it?  When  every  one 
is  laughing  and  talking  and  breathing  the  air  around 
us,  it  seems  almost  impossible  to  see  things  clearly. 
It  is  in  these  long,  still  hours  that  one  sees  the  truth. 
I,  too,  have  been  sleepless  to-night,  Jermyn ;  I,  too, 
have  been  thinking.  Some  of  my  impulses  have  grown 
weak.  Second  thoughts  have  come  to  me." 

"  What  do  you  mean?  "  he  demanded. 

She  turned  and  pointed  down  the  corridor. 

"  I  have  been  asking  myself,"  she  said,  "  what  there 
is  that  I  owe  to  that  girl  or  to  you  that  I  should  per- 
jure myself  to  drive  her  into  your  arms?  Why  should 
I  shield  her?  Answer  me  that.  She  has  killed  a  man. 
Whether  she  had  justification  or  not  matters  nothing 
to  me.  Let  the  courts  decide  that.  I  hate  her!  Now 
tell  me,  Jermyn  —  answer  me  honestly  —  why  should 
I  shield  her?  " 

"  Because  you  are  both  women,"  he  answered,  "  be- 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      131 

cause  you  know  that  I  love  her,  because  it  is  splendid 
of  you." 

She  laughed  very  softly  but  it  was  a  laugh  which 
made  Jermyn  shiver. 

"  Jermyn,"  she  said,  "  go  back  again  to  that  night 
I  spoke  of  in  the  Black  Forest.  I  asked  you  a  ques- 
tion then.  You  were  not  very  kind  to  me  but  I  — 
I  have  never  changed." 

"  Lucille !  "  he  begged. 

"  Hush !  These  are  the  hours  in  which  one  speaks 
the  truth.  Plenty  of  men  have  told  me  that  they  cared, 
Jermyn,  plenty  of  men  whom  the  world  in  which  I  live 
might  find  more  attractive  than  you.  And  I  wanted 
you.  I  always  have  wanted  you.  It's  the  tiger  in  me, 
I  suppose,  to  want  what  I  do  want  to  the  death.  I 
have  only  to  speak  the  truth  and  there  is  no  chance  in 
this  world  that  you  and  she  will  ever  stand  hand  in 
hand  again.  Why  should  I  not  speak  it?  Or—" 

"  Or  what?  " 

"  Or  if  I  keep  silent,  why  should  I  not  exact  my 
price?  " 

"  Lucille,  you  are  talking  wildly,"  he  declared. 
"  You  have  been  so  splendid,  so  brave,  so  helpful.  You 
could  not  go  back  upon  your  words ! " 

"  But  indeed  I  could,"  she  told  him.  "  Now  listen, 
Jermyn.  I  am  going  to  my  room.  At  seven  o'clock 
you  must  come  to  me.  By  that  time  I  shall  have  made 
up  my  mind.  Only  —  hush,  not  a  word  now.  I  have 
finished.  Dear,  how  cold  and  pale  you  are ! " 

She  took  his  face  suddenly  between  her  hands  and 
kissed  him  on  the  lips.  Then  she  passed  noiselessly 
away.  He  waited  until  he  heard  the  door  of  her  room 
open  and  close.  Then  he  retraced  his  steps  along  the 


132      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

corridor,  turned  to  the  left  and  paused  before  a  door 
in  the  east  wing.  It  was  the  room  at  which  he  had 
gazed  from  below  —  the  third  window  on  the  left. 
Very  slowly  he  turned  the  handle  of  the  door  and  en- 
tered. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

The  room  through  which  Jermyn  passed  was  dark 
and  empty,  but  in  the  chamber  beyond,  the  best  in 
the  house,  as  became  the  pomp  and  circumstance  of 
his  position,  Henry  Aynesworth,  Marquis  of  Laken- 
ham,  lay  dying.  Jermyn,  who  was  admitted  only  after 
he  had  knocked  softly  twice,  stood  for  a  moment  upon 
the  threshold  of  this  fateful  apartment.  The  surgeon 
from  Norwich  had  arrived  and  was  talking  in  earnest 
whispers  with  Dr.  Brownrigg.  A  nurse  whom  he  had 
brought  with  him  sat  by  the  bedside.  The  man  who 
lay  there  seemed  to  have  turned  his  face  to  the  wall. 
He  was  either  still  unconscious  or  he  slept.  There  was 
no  sound  in  the  room  save  the  faint  murmur  of  voices 
as  the  two  physicians  talked  together.  Jermyn  came 
slowly  over  towards  them.  They  moved  a  little  apart 
at  his  entrance. 

"  There  is  no  change  ?  "  Jermyn  asked. 

"  None,"  Dr.  Brownrigg  replied.  "  Physically, 
there  will  be  none  until  the  end." 

"He  must  die,  then?" 

"  He  must  certainly  die." 

"  Has  he  spoken  to  any  one  ?  " 

The  two  doctors  exchanged  glances.  It  was  Dr. 
Brownrigg  who  answered. 

"  He  has  spoken  to  no  one,  Sir  Jermyn,"  he  said. 
"  Miss  Cluley  has  been  here,  begging  to  be  allowed  to 


134      THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

sit  by  his  bedside,  but  the  inspector  exacted  a  promise 
from  me  that  if  he  refrained  from  putting  a  man  in 
the  room,  It  should  allow  no  one  to  enter  it  save  myself 
and  the  necessary  attendants.  I  hope  you  will  explain 
to  Miss  Cluley,  Sir  Jermyn,  that  I  was  compelled  to 
keep  my  word." 

"  I  quite  understand,"  Jermyn  replied,  "  and  I  am 
sure  Miss  Cluley  will.  Naturally,  she  feels  the  shock 
very  much.  She  told  me  that  she  hoped  to  be  allowed 
to  see  him  before  the  end." 

The  doctor  bowed. 

"  The  young  lady  was  in  great  distress,"  he  said, 
"  and  it  was  very  painful  for  me  to  have  to  refuse  her 
request.  Under  the  circumstances,  however,  there  was 
no  alternative." 

"  I  am  sure  she  will  understand,"  Jermyn  declared. 
"  There  is  nothing  more,  I  suppose,"  he  added,  with 
a  hesitating  glance  toward  the  bed,  "  that  can  be 
done?" 

"  Nothing,"  the  surgeon  answered.  "  We  have 
eased  his  pain  —  we  could  do  no  more.  He  may  live 
for  a  few  hours,  but  he  will  grow  weaker  all  the  time." 

"  No  longer  than  that?  "  Jermyn  murmured. 

"  No  longer  than  that,"  the  surgeon  reiterated. 

A  slight  sound  came  from  the  bed.  Jermyn  turned 
his  head.  The  man  who  lay  there  had  opened  his  eyes 
and  was  watching.  The  nurse  was  bending  over  him. 

"  I  think,"  she  said,  turning  round,  "  that  he  wants 
to  speak  to  you,  sir." 

Jertnyn  made  his  way  slowly  to  the  bedside.  His 
heart  was  thumping.  They  were  all  listening.  Per- 
haps this  was  a  foolish  thing  which  he  had  done !  The 
man  who  lay  there  was  pitifully  changed.  He  had  been 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      135 

a  coarse,  burly,  red-faced  giant  a  few  hours  ago.  Now 
he  seemed  to  have  shrunken.  His  cheeks  had  fallen 
in,  his  eyes  under  his  hairy  eyebrows  seemed  to  have 
become  almost  fixed  in  a  glassy  stare.  His  voice,  loud 
and  stentorian,  the  voice  which  Jermyn  had  hated,  was 
almost  a  whisper,  yet  even  as  a  whisper  it  seemed  to 
preserve  its  discordant  effect. 

"  I'm   done,   Jermyn !  " 

"  Not  a  bit  of  it,"  Jermyn  declared,  with  hastily 
assumed  cheerfulness.  "  Nothing  is  certain,  nowadays. 
A  specialist  is  on  his  way  here.  We  are  hoping  that 
he  will  be  able  to  do  something  for  you." 

"  I  tell  you  I'm  done,"  the  man  on  the  bed  repeated, 
almost  sullenly.  "  I  know.  Men  always  know  when 
they're  dying." 

"  We  don't  believe  it,"  Jermyn  asserted.  "  Still,  if 
there  is  any  one  you  would  wish  to  see  — ' 

"  Not  a  soul,"  Lakenham  muttered.  "  There's  .  no 
one  —  who'll  care  a  damn,  there's  no  one  I  care  —  a 
damn  about !  I  used  —  to  think  you  were  a  fool, 
Jermyn  —  to  keep  the  women  at  arm's  length.  I  be- 
lieve —  you're  right.  They're  devils !  " 

Jermyn  looked  half  wildly  around.  The  doctors 
were  both  standing  within  earshot.  What  was  the  man 
about  to  say! 

"  Don't  talk  if  it  distresses  you,"  Jermyn  begged. 
"  There  will  be  more  chance  for  you  if  you  lie  still." 

Lakenham  opened  his  lips  and  closed  them  again. 
The  nurse  bent  over  him  and  wiped  his  forehead. 
Jermyn  motioned  her  nervously  away.  He  pointed  to 
the  corner  of  the  room.  She  obeyed  him  with  a  signif- 
icant glance  towards  the  doctor. 

"  I  can't  —  make  up  my  mind,"  Lakenham  went  on, 


136      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

painf  ully,  "  whether  —  to  tell  the  truth  —  or  not. 
The  doctors  have  been  pressing  me  hard.  While  — 
I  lay  here  dozing,  I  heard  them  speak  —  of  the  police. 
You  don't  want  —  the  police  in  the  house  —  do  you, 
Jermyn  ?  " 

"  Nothing  of  that  sort  matters  very  much,"  Jermyn 
replied  calmly.  "  If  their  coming  is  a  necessity,  I 
am  prepared  to  accept  it.  I  wish  you  would  keep  quiet 
now.  I  am  sure  it  would  be  better  for  you." 

The  dying  man  opened  and  closed  the  fingers  of  his 
hand,  which  lay  upon  the  coverlet.  His  eyes  were  fixed 
upon  the  ceiling. 

"  I  can't  make  up  —  my  mind.  Women  are  — 
devils !  " 

He  closed  his  eyes.  One  of  the  doctors  approached 
the  bedside.  He  waved  Jermyn  away. 

"  You  had  better  leave  him  now,"  he  whispered. 

"  He  wants  to  tell  me  something ! "  Jermyn  ex- 
claimed hoarsely.  "  I  don't  think  that  I  had  better 
go  away.  He  would  rather  tell  me  than  any  one.  He 
is  going  to  tell  us  who  shot  him ! " 

The  doctor  shook  his  head  gravely. 

"  There  is  no  question  about  his  telling  anybody 
anything  more,"  he  said.  "  Lord  Lakenham  is  passing 
away.  He  will  never  open  his  lips  again." 


CHAPTER  XVII 

Perhaps,  in  its  way,  the  final  shock  of  Lakenham's 
death  brought  with  it  a  certain  grim  sense  of  relief; 
an  end,  at  any  rate,  of  the  terrible  tension  of  the  last 
few  hours.  Jermyn  made  his  way  unsteadily  into  his 
own  bedroom  and  threw  himself  upon  the  sofa.  For 
an  hour  or  so  he  dozed.  At  six  o'clock  a  servant 
brought  him  some  tea.  Afterwards,  mechanically  he 
took  a  bath  and  changed  his  clothes.  At  seven  o'clock, 
he  knocked  at  the  door  of  the  sitting-room  of  Lucille's 
little  suite.  Her  maid  admitted  him  at  once.  Lucille 
herself,  fully  dressed  in  plain  dark  clothes,  was  sitting 
at  her  table,  writing  letters.  Her  eyes  followed  the 
disappearing  figure  of  the  maid.  As  soon  as  the  door 
was  closed,  she  leaned  towards  Jermyn. 

"  It  is  all  over,  then? "  she  whispered.  "  He  is 
dead?  " 

"He  is  dead!" 

She  drew  a  little  breath.     Her  tone  was  unsteady. 

"  Has  he  told  the  truth  ?  "  she  asked  eagerly.  "  Is 
any  one  implicated?  Did  he  say  anything  to  you?  " 

Jermyn  shook  his  head. 

"  He  has  made  no  statement  at  all,"  he  replied. 
"  He  spoke  to  me.  He  was  hesitating  as  to  how  much 
he  should  tell.  Even  as  he  was  hesitating,  he  died." 

"  You  are  sure  that  he  told  the  doctors  nothing 
while  you  were  out  of  the  room  ?  " 


i38      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

"  I  am  quite  sure." 

Lucille  sat  for  a  few  minutes  with  her  eyes  half 
closed.  Her  lips  moved  even  as  though  she  were  speak- 
ing to  herself.  Then  she  drew  a  long  sigh  and  rose 
to  her  feet.  She  went  over  to  Jermyn  and,  passing 
her  arm  through  his,  led  him  to  an  easy-chair.  A 
coffee  tray  stood  upon  the  table. 

"  Jermyn  dear,"  she  said,  "  I  want  you  to  try  and 
pull  yourself  together.  I  know  that  this  has  all  been 
very  horrible.  You  have  had  two  shocks  —  the  tragedy 
of  poor  Aynesworth's  death  under  your  own  roof,  and 
the  tragedy  of  that  terrible  secret.  You  will  have  to 
be  a  man  and  face  it,  Jermyn.  There  is  no  other 
way.  We  shall  need  all  our  courage,  both  you  and  I, 
if  that  secret  is  to  be  properly  kept." 

He  lifted  his  eyes  to  hers.  There  were  black  rims 
underneath  them  and  his  cheeks  seemed  to  have  become 
hollower.  The  shock  had  aged  him. 

"  I  shall  face  it,"  he  assured  her.  "  There  is  no 
doubt  about  that.  The  question  which  concerns  me 
most  for  the  present  is  what  you  are  going  to  do !  " 

She  busied  herself,  for  a  moment,  making  some 
coffee.  Then  she  turned  and  looked  at  him  stead- 
fastly. 

"  Jermyn,"  she  said,  "  all  the  excitement  of  the  last 
few  hours  seems  to  have  left  me  nerveless.  I  can  talk 
quite  calmly  now  of  things  which,  in  themselves,  sound 
terrible.  I  am  going  to  make  a  bargain  with  you." 

"Well?" 

"  I  am  going  to  speak  the  naked  truth,"  she  went  on. 
"  Some  of  the  things  I  shall  say  you  may  not  like. 
Nevertheless,  listen  patiently.  I  have  no  love  for 
Sybil  Cluley.  You  are  an  idealist,  Jermyn,  and  all 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      139 

your  days  you  will  be  a  little  out  of  touch  with  a  world 
which  has  been  fashioned  by  practical  people,  and  whose 
main  roads  and  by-ways  lead  to  the  obvious  places. 
Sybil  Cluley  is  just  a  little  girl  upon  the  stage,  who 
has  been  clever  enough  to  behave  decently  most  of  her 
days,  and  woman  enough,  when  one  of  her  secrets  has 
been  found  out,  to  strike  hard  for  herself  and  her  fu- 
ture. She  isn't  what  you  think  her,  Jermyn.  She 
isn't  anything  at  all  wonderful.  She  would  have  made 
you  a  good  little  wife,  I  daresay,  and  probably  she 
would  have  settled  down  here  quite  contentedly.  She 
might  even  have  been  faithful  to  you.  But  beyond 
that  she  wasn't  in  the  least  like  the  woman  you  ought 
to  marry." 

"  I  am  listening  patiently,"  he  remarked,  "  but  I 
do  not  agree  with  a  single  word.  The  woman  whom 
a  man  ought  to  marry  is  the  woman  who,  in  some 
mysterious  way,  has  made  for  herself  a  place  which  no 
other  woman  could  make  in  the  heart  of  the  man  who 
covets  her.  There  is  no  universal  standard  of  suit- 
ability —  you  must  know  that  yourself  very  well  —  or 
all  men  would  desire  the  same  woman.  I  feel  for  Sybil 
what  I  have  felt  for  no  one  else  in  my  life,  what  I  shall 
never  feel  for  any  other  woman.  I  cannot  listen  to  a 
single  word  against  her.  I  do  not  believe  a  single  word 
against  her ! " 

She  leaned  a  little  forward. 

"  You  believe  —  in  your  heart  you  know  that  she 
killed  Ay nes worth,"  she  declared  firmly. 

Jermyn  opened  his  lips  and  closed  them  again.  She 
leaned  a  little  closer  still. 

"  I  am  not  sure,  even,"  she  went  on,  watching  him 
closely,  "  that  Aynesworth,  if  he  spoke  to  you  at  all, 


140      THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

did  not  let  fall  some  word;  did  not,  directly  or  in- 
directly, confirm  this." 

Jermyn  covered  his  face  with  his  hands.  A  sudden 
light  flashed  in  Lucille's  eyes.  When  Jermyn  looked 
up  he  seemed  older. 

"  Lucille,"  he  said,  "  is  this  worth  while  between  you 
and  me?  Since  you  force  me  to  it,  then,  supposing  I 
admit  that  Sybil  did  kill  him?  It  was  done  in  an  im- 
pulse of  madness.  You  do  not  for  a  moment  suppose 
that  I  shall  not  protect  her  with  all  my  power,  by  every 
means  I  possess?  " 

"  Nothing  that  you  can  do,"  she  replied,  "  will  be 
of  any  use  if  I  choose  to  speak  out." 

"But  you  won't!" 

"  On  certain  terms  I  shall  not,"  she  assented.  "  If 
you  refuse  my  terms,  I  shall  tell  the  truth." 

He  looked  at  her  doubtfully,  still  without  complete 
understanding. 

"  An  hour  or  so  ago,"  she  continued,  dropping  her 
voice  a  little,  "  something  in  the  coming  of  the  morn- 
ing from  behind  the  woods  carried  me  back  to  the  past 
so  overwhelmingly  that  I  was  compelled  to  speak  to 
you  of  a  moment  which  I  have  thought  of  always  in 
my  heart  with  shame.  I  mean  the  moment  when  I 
begged  for  a  little  of  your  love.  No,  don't  move  away. 
This  hurts  you  to  listen  to,  perhaps,  but  you  must 
listen.  When  you  told  me  that  you  were  going  to  marry 
Sybil  Cluley,  you  gave  me  the  cruellest  shock  of  my 
life.  There  was  nothing  left  for  me.  I  am  not  one 
of  those  who  can  distribute  affection,  Jermyn.  When 
I  love  as  I  love  you,  as  God  knows  I  love  you,  there 
can  be  no  other  man  in  the  world,  there  can  be  no  life 
worth  living  without  you,  there  can  be  nothing  but 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      141 

misery.  Sit  still.  You  must  hear  me  to  the  end. 
Twenty-four  hours  ago  it  was  all  over  with  me.  I 
couldn't  even  make  up  my  mind  what  I  should  do  with 
the  wretched  fragments  of  my  life.  I  simply  didn't 
care.  Wherever  I  looked,  I  could  see  no  single  ray 
of  joy  or  happiness,  or  anything  approaching  it.  The 
one  thing  which  alone  I  desired,  hopeless  as  it  seemed 
then,  was  to  separate  you  and  Sybil  Cluley.  Fate  has 
done  that  for  me." 

He  moved  uneasily  in  his  chair.  She  held  out  her 
hand. 

"  I  know  what  you  are  thinking,"  she  went  on.  "  I 
have  brought  you  face  to  face  with  your  own  problem. 
You  are  wondering  and  wondering.  Now,  listen.  I 
am  going  to  solve  that  problem  for  you.  I  am  going 
to  give  you  no  chance  of  marrying  a  murderess.  I  am 
going  to  give  you  no  chance  of  heroism.  If  you  want 
to  save  this  girl  from  the  scaffold,  you  must  marry  me 
and  marry  me  quickly." 

He  sprang  to  his  feet. 

"  Lucille !  "  he  cried.     "  Lucille !  " 

She  rose  slowly.  She  looked  at  him,  looked  at  him 
long  and  steadily,  and  his  heart  sank.  Then  she  con- 
tinued. 

"  That  is  the  price  of  my  silence,"  she  told  him,  de- 
liberately. "  I  have  no  liking,  no  sympathy,  for  Sybil 
Cluley.  If  I  am  compelled  to  speak,  she  will  very 
likely  escape  the  death  sentence.  She  might  make  a 
jury  believe  that  she  killed  Aynesworth  in  defense  of 
her  honor.  She  is  clever  enough,  I  daresay.  But 
even  if  she  is  fortunate,  she  will  spend  the  best  years 
of  her  youth  in  prison.  I  think,  Jermyn,  that  you 
will  save  her  from  that." 


142      THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

It  was  significant  of  the  conviction  which  her  words 
carried,  that  Jermyn  attempted  no  argument. 

"  You  are   cruel ! "  he  muttered. 

"  I  may  seem  so,"  she  replied,  "  but  I  am  not.  I 
am  sacrificing  no  one  and  I  am  doing  what  every  woman 
in  the  world  has  a  right  to  do;  I  am  striking  one  blow 
for  the  thing  which  I  desire  more  than  anything  else 
in  life.  And,  Jermyn,  I  shall  make  you  happy.  You 
may  not  think  so  now  but  I  shall.  There  is  more  love 
for  you,  more  understanding  of  you,  more  real 
sympathy  with  you,  in  a  single  beat  of  my  heart  than 
in  any  of  the  false  words  which  that  little  pale-faced 
chit  has  ever  hammered  out  to  an  audience  of  one. 
Go  to  the  window,  Jermyn.  You  see?  There  is  a 
motor-car  coming  up  the  avenue." 

He  followed  her  finger. 

"What  of  it?" 

"  Who  is   in  it?"   she  asked. 

"  There  is  a  policeman  on  the  box,"  he  answered 
slowly.  "  Inside  —  yes,  it's  Lisgood  —  Captain  Lis- 
good." 

"  The  chief  constable  of  Norfolk,"  she  remarked. 
"  Very  well,  you  have  just  as  long  to  make  up  your  mind, 
'Jermyn,  as  it  takes  that  motor-car  to  deposit  its  pas- 
sengers inside  this  house.  As  I  live,  I  will  send  Sybil 
Cluley  to  take  her  trial  on  the  charge  of  murdering 
Aynesworth,  unless  you  give  me  now  your  hand  in  mine 
and  your  word  of  honor  to  marry  me  within  two  months. 
Hesitate,  if  you  like,  but  every  second  means  a  risk. 
If  they  come  before  you  have  answered  me,  then  I 
strike." 

"  I  accept,"  Jermyn  agreed  swiftly.  "  I  will  marry 
you  —  I  promise  no  more  than  that,  mind  —  but  I 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      143 

will  marry  you  if  those  are  your  terms.  Remember 
that  Sybil  is  to  be  spared  not  only  the  worst,  but  every 
breath  of  suspicion  or  annoyance,  so  far  as  lies  in  your 
power." 

"  She  shall  be  saved  from  everything,"  Lucille  de- 
clared,—  "  from  everything." 

There  was  a  moment's  silence.  Jermyn  had  turned 
half  away.  Suddenly  Lucille  moved  a  little  closer  to- 
wards him.  Her  voice,  her  tone,  even  her  bearing,  were 
suddenly  different.  Her  face  seemed  younger ;  her  eyes 
were  shining. 

"  Jermyn,"  she  whispered,  "  some  day  or  other,  be- 
lieve me,  I  shall  be  able  to  make  you  forget  this  morn- 
ing. It  is  only  because  you  are  a  little  mad  that  I 
have  ventured  what  I  have  ventured.  If  I  had  believed 
in  your  love  for  her,  or  her  love  for  you,  believed  in 
it  whole-heartedly,  I  would  have  saved  her  for  you  — 
indeed  I  would.  I'd  have  been  just  like  one  of  that 
other  poor  army  of  fools,  who  cut  out  their  own  hap- 
piness from  their  heart  for  the  sake  of  the  man  they 
love.  But  it  wouldn't  have  been  of  any  use,  Jermyn. 
If  this  all  seems  theatrical  to  you,  and  foolish,  and 
wicked,  try  and  believe  that  it  is  only  because  the  cir- 
cumstances themselves  are  so  wonderful.  We  will  save 
little  Sybil  Cluley  and  she  shall  go  back  to  the  pro- 
fession which  she  loves,  and  I  am  quite  sure  that  pres- 
ently she'll  settle  down  happily  enough.  She  can  have 
all  the  money  or  the  social  recognition  she  wants. 
We'll  make  it  up  to  her.  And,  Jermyn,  even  if  you 
don't  believe  it  now,  I  shall  teach  you  to  forget  her, 
dear.  I  shall  teach  you  to  feel  in  your  heart  that  there 
was  a  Providence  even  in  this  terrible  happening." 

She  had  come  quite  close  to  him  now.     Her  head 


144      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

was  lifted  to  his,  her  beautiful  eyes  were  seeking  to 
draw  some  answering  light ;  her  lips  were  a  little  parted, 
her  breath  almost  was  upon  his  cheek.  He  caught  her 
hands  and  held  them  in  a  grip  of  iron,  but  he  held  her 
from  him. 

"  Lucille,"  he  said,  "  I  have  accepted  your  bargain. 
Don't  misunderstand  my  acceptance.  I  have  listened 
without  protest  to  all  that  you  have  said  about  Sybil, 
but  to  me  she  is  the  one  woman  in  the  world.  I  have 
lived  a  life  of  which  such  men  as  Lakenham  make  sport. 
I  am  one  of  those  primitive  fools  who  only  believe  in 
loving  once.  I  never  cared  for  any  one  before  I  cared 
for  Sybil;  I  have  never  told  a  woman  that  I  cared  for 
her ;  I  don't  believe  that  I  have  ever  looked  at  a  woman 
as  though  I  cared  for  her.  I  gave  Sybil  my  whole  heart 
and  she  will  have  it  until  the  end.  I  shall  marry  you 
to  save  her  from  the  shadow  of  disgrace.  I  can't  see 
that  you'll  get  much  out  of  it.  I  promise  nothing  be- 
yond the  bare  fulfillment  of  that  compact." 

She  raised  his  hands  to  her  lips. 

"  They  are  looking  for  you  downstairs,"  she  mur- 
mured. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

"  I  call  it  perfectly  horrid,"  Mary  declared,  as  she 
linked  her  arm  through  Jermyn's.  "  We  were  having 
such  a  lovely  time  here.  I  don't  want  to  go  a  bit." 

Jermyn  looked  down  at  her  pityingly. 

"  You  poor  child,"  he  murmured.  "  It  really  is  hard 
luck  on  you.  We  were  going  to  have  such  a  good  time, 
weren't  we?  " 

"  Wonderful ! "  she  sighed.  "  Sybil  is  most  fright- 
fully upset,"  she  continued,  confidentially.  "  I  never 
saw  her  look  so  white  and  cold  and  quiet.  I  don't  think 
she  slept  at  all  last  night,  for  several  times  when  I 
woke  up  I  looked  across  the  room,  and  I  could  see  her 
eyes  wide  open.  Was  Lord  Lakenham  a  very  great 
friend  of  hers,  Jermyn?  " 

He  shook  his  head. 

"  No,  it  wasn't  that  at  all,  Mary,"  he  said.  "  Sybil 
scarcely  knew  him.  She  happened,  though,  to  be  the 
last  person  who  saw  him  before  it  happened  and  so 
I  suppose  she  felt  the  shock." 

The  child  dropped  her  voice.  Although  in  a  much 
lesser  degree,  the  horror,  too,  was  in  her  blood. 

"  Jermyn,"  she  asked  anxiously,  "  do  they  know  yet 
who  killed  him?  " 

He  looked  away  from  her  out  of  the  old-fashioned 
walled  garden  in  which  they  were  walking,  out  across 
the  meadows  up  to  the  tree-topped  hills.  The  insects 


146      THE    WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN 

were  droning  about  them,  the  lightest  of  summer  breezes 
was  playing  amongst  the  trees.  It  seemed  to  him  that 
he  could  hear  nothing,  think  of  nothing,  but  those  few 
fateful  words  —  "  Willful  murder  against  some  person 
or  persons  unknown!  " 

"  No,  dear,"  he  answered,  "  they  really  don't  know 
anything  about  it  at  all  yet.  I  think  that  it  must  have 
been  an  accident.  He  probably  had  the  pistol  in  his 
pocket,  took  it  out  to  look  at  it,  and  it  went  off.  We 
won't  talk  any  more  about  it.  It  is  too  terrible  to  dis- 
cuss." 

Her  eyes  filled  with  tears. 

"  I  was  having  such  a  lovely  holiday  and  so  was 
Sybil,"  she  went  on.  "  Sybil  has  been  working  so  hard 
and  since  she  came  here  she  seems  to  have  changed. 
The  day  before  yesterday  she  was  just  like  she  used 
to  be,  so  happy  that  she  was  even  singing  in  her  room, 
singing  as  she  undressed  and  singing  when  she  got  up 
in  the  morning.  And  now  she  almost  frightens  me, 
she  seems  so  grave  and  serious.  Jermyn,  please,  you 
haven't  quarreled,  have  you  ?  " 

"  Not  in  the  least,  dear,"  he  assured  her.  "  Why 
should  we  quarrel?  Didn't  I  send  you  upstairs  just 
now  to  beg  her  to  come  down  ?  " 

Mary  nodded  doubtfully. 

"  Yes,  and  that  is  one  thing  I  didn't  understand," 
she  replied.  "  I  am  quite  sure  Sybil  could  have  come 
if  she  had  liked.  There  are  two  maids  up  there  want- 
ing to  help  her  pack  and  everything  was  nearly  finished 
hours  ago." 

"  Tell  me  what  she  said  exactly  ?  "  Jermyn  asked. 

"  She  said  she  would  be  down  in  about  half-an-hour. 
The  Duchess  was  up  there  with  her.  Is  it  very  horrid 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      147 

of  me,  Jermyn,  not  to  like  the  Duchess?  I  suppose  she 
is  a  very  grand  lady,  but  she  frightens  me." 

"  I  am  afraid  our  likes  and  our  dislikes,"  Jermyn 
replied,  "  are  rather  beyond  our  control." 

"  Here  comes  Mr.  Norden  Smith ! "  Mary  exclaimed. 
"  Isn't  he  funny,  Jermyn !  He  told  me  such  droll 
stories  at  luncheon-time.  I  think  I  like  Americans." 

Mr.  Norden  Smith  was  in  motoring  attire.  He  re- 
moved his  goggles  and  took  off  his  glove. 

"  I  couldn't  leave  the  neighborhood,"  he  explained, 
"  without  looking  in  once  more  to  say  good-by.  I  am 
exceedingly  sorry,  Sir  Jermyn,  that  I  should  have 
blundered  in  upon  you  at  such  an  unfortunate  time. 
I  am  off  now  to  Lincoln  to-day  and  up  to  Durham  to- 
morrow. There's  nothing  more  I  can  do,  eh?  " 

"  Nothing,"  Jermyn  assured  him.  "  Thank  you  all 
the  same.  I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  attending  the 
inquest.  It  was  rather  hard  luck  on  you  to  have  to 
stay  in  the  neighborhood  an  extra  day  when  you  have 
so  little  time  to  spare  on  this  side." 

"  A  matter  of  no  consequence  at  all,"  Mr.  Norden 
Smith  declared ;  "  absolutely  of  no  consequence.  To 
tell  you  the  truth,  the  affair  interested  me  profes- 
sionally. I  have  never  seen  anything  of  the  sort  over 
here." 

He  fell  into  step  and  strolled  along  with  them. 
Jermyn  turned  to  Mary. 

"  Mary,  don't  you  think,"  he  suggested,  "  that  if 
you  went  and  told  Sybil  I  was  very  anxious  indeed  to 
see  her  a  little  time  before  she  left  for  the  station,  that 
you  might  hurry  her  up  ?  " 

"I'll  try,"  the  child  promised.  "I'll  do  my  best, 
anyway." 


148      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

She  tripped  across  the  lawn.  Mr.  Norden  Smith 
nodded  approvingly  as  he  watched  her. 

"  Nice  child,  that,"  he  remarked.  "  Miss  Cluley's 
sister,  eh?  " 

Jermyn  assented.  Mr.  Norden  Smith  was  still 
watching  Mary  on  her  way  to  the  house. 

"  She  dances  like  the  sunshine,"  he  declared ;  "  light 
on  her  feet  as  a  fairy,  isn't  she?  Just  like  her  sister 
used  to  be  at  her  age,  I  should  think." 

"  They  are  very  much  alike,"  Jermyn  agreed. 

"  I  must  say,"  Mr.  Norden  Smith  continued,  "  that 
the  manner  in  which  Miss  Cluley  gave  her  evidence 
to-day  was  something  wonderful.  Not  a  tremor,  not 
an  indiscreet  word;  not  a  syllable  too  much,  not  a 
syllable  too  little;  just  the  right  amount  of  agitation. 
It  was  a  triumph.  A  very  clever  young  actress,  I 
imagine,  Miss  Cluley.  I  only  regret  that  I  never  hap- 
pen to  have  seen  her  on  the  stage." 

Jermyn's  tone  became  a  shade  colder. 

"  I  do  not  connect  Miss  Cluley's  proficiency  on  the 
stage,"  he  said,  "  with  her  deportment  to-day.  To- 
day she  was  simply  a  charming  and  well-bred  young 
woman,  forced  into  a  very  unpleasant  and  painful 
situation.  She  told  the  truth  simply  —  she  could  do 
no  more  nor  any  less." 

"  Quite  so,"  Mr.  Norden  Smith  agreed,  dryly. 
"  Why,  that's  all  right.  By  the  by,  Sir  Jermyn,"  he 
continued,  glancing  around,  "  as  we  are  here  quite  by 
ourselves  for  a  moment  or  two,  I  must  confess  that  I 
have  felt  just  a  little  curious  about  those  trifles  we 
collected  from  the  floor.  I  feel  a  sort  of  right  to 
mention  the  matter,  you  know,  because  it  was  through 
me  that  they  were  collected,  wasn't  it?  Miss  Cluley 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      149 

was  so  certain  in  her  evidence  that  there  had  been  no 
disagreement  of  any  sort  between  her  and  Lord  Laken- 
ham.  Was  Miss  Cluley,  by  any  chance,  wearing  a 
white  or  ivory  satin  gown  last  night?  " 

"I  do  not  remember  the  color  of  her  gown,"  Jermyn 
replied,  stiffly. 

"  Silly  of  me  to  mention  it,  perhaps,"  Mr.  Norden 
Smith  declared,  swinging  his  spectacles  slightly  between 
his  fingers.  "  As  a  criminal  lawyer,  however,  I  must 
say  that  the  proceedings  this  morning  interested  me 
very  much.  There  are  not  very  many  people  who 
could  possibly  have  committed  that  crime,  and  yet 
there  doesn't  seem,  at  present,  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  your  coroner,  as  you  call  him,  handled  the  case 
in  an  exceedingly  able  fashion,  there  doesn't  seem  to 
be  a  shred  of  evidence  against  anybody." 

"  That  is  the  general  opinion,"  Jermyn  assented, 
gravely. 

"  Not  a  single  shred  of  evidence,"  Mr.  Norden  Smith 
repeated.  "  Well,  it's  a  queer  thing,  isn't  it  ?  Every- 
thing in  such  a  narrow  compass,  too.  Seems  odd  to 
me  that  I  should  have  stumbled  up  against  an  affair 
like  this." 

"  It  is  strange  indeed,"  Jermyn  admitted.  "  In  your 
country,  I  suppose,  such  tragedies  are  a  little  more 
common.  I  must  say  one  reads  about  these  things  in 
the  paper  and  the  impression  left  is  a  very  faint  one. 
You  feel,  somehow,  that  they  belong  to  another  world. 
When  anything  of  the  sort  absolutely  happens 
under  your  own  roof,  though,  it  gives  you  sensations 
and  emotions  quite  incredible.  Sometimes  I  can't  be- 
lieve, even  now,  that  poor  Aynesworth  is  really  gone, 
killed  by  some  one  in  my  billiard-room.  People  are 


150      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

beginning  to  talk  already  of  the  Annerley  murder 
case;  and  it's  only  a  few  hours  ago  that  the  poor  fel- 
low was  with  us  and  in  boisterous  spirits." 

"  I  suppose  he  must  have  made  himself  objection- 
able to  some  one,"  Mr.  Norden  Smith  remarked.  "  It's 
the  fashion  to  be  secretive,  nowadays.  One  can't  tell, 
even  in  one's  own  little  circle  of  friends,  whether  two 
men  whom  you  have  known  all  your  life  are  really  at- 
tached to  one  another,  or  whether  there  is  not  a  deadly 
enmity  beneath  their  daily  politeness.  Say,  I'd  like  to 
leave  you  my  address,  Sir  Jermyn.  I  can't  see  that 
there  is  any  way  in  which  I  can  be  of  any  further  serv- 
ice to  you  in  this  matter,  but  in  case  you  did  want  to 
communicate  with  me  at  any  time,  here  you  are. 
Brown,  Shipley  &  Company,  if  I  am  in  London  or 
anywhere  in  Europe;  and  Manhattan  Club  in  New 
York.  You  should  take  a  trip  to  the  States,  Sir 
Jermyn." 

"  If  ever  I  do,"  Jermyn  replied,  "  I  will  return  your 
call,  if  I  may,  under  I  trust  more  auspicious  circum- 
stances." 

"  We'll  give  you  a  bully  time,"  Mr.  Norden  Smith 
assured  him,  holding  out  his  hand.  "  Now  I  am  off, 
if  you'll  allow  me.  I  am  planning  to  get  to  Lincoln 
to-night,  if  only  my  tires  hold  out.  My  regards  to 
the  little  girl  and  my  respectful  compliments  to  Miss 
Cluley.  If  I  thought  she'd  take  it  in  the  right  way, 
I  should  like,  as  a  criminal  lawyer,  you  know,  to  con- 
vey to  her  my  heartiest  congratulations  upon  the  way 
in  which  she  went  through  that  little  ordeal  this  morn- 
ing." 

Mr.  Norden  Smith  took  his  place  in  the  car,  which 
was  waiting  in  front  of  the  house,  paused  for  a  few 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      151 

moments  to  light  a  cigar,  and  drove  off.  Jermyn 
turned  away  to  find  Mary  coming  towards  him. 

"  Sybil  will  be  in  the  library  in  five  minutes,"  she 
announced, — "  not  the  ordinary  library,  you  know, 
but  your  little  study,  where  you  and  she  read  the  play. 
She  doesn't  want  to  come  out  in  the  gardens.  I  think 
she  is  afraid  that  the  sun  is  hot  and  she  has  a  head- 
ache. You'd  better  go  in  there  now  and  wait  for  her." 

"  You're  a  dear,  Mary,"  Jermyn  declared. 

"You'll  come  and  see  us  in  London,  won't  you?" 
the  child  begged. 

"  Of  course  I  shall,"  Jermyn  promised.  "  I  hope  — 
yes,  I  hope,"  he  continued,  "  that  before  very  long 
you  will  be  here  again." 

Mary  sighed. 

"  If  you  knew  how  I  hated  to  go  away !  London  is 
so  hot  and  stuffy.  Hurry,  Jermyn,  please.  If  Sybil 
gets  there  first,  perhaps  she  won't  wait.  I  have  to  go 
and  get  my  hat  on." 


CHAPTER  XIX 

Jermyn  passed  up  the  steps,  across  the  cool,  dim 
hall  and  into  his  own  little  study,  where  less  than  forty- 
eight  hours  ago  he  had  sat  with  Sybil  and  talked  of 
the  play  and  their  future,  and  the  wonderful  life  they 
meant  to  live  together.  It  seemed  as  though  this  were 
another  world  in  which  they  were  living  to-day,  as 
though  the  people  who  belonged  to  the  last  one  had 
changed  into  shadows,  as  though  the  sunlight  had  be- 
come moonlight,  and  all  the  splendor  and  joy  of  life 
itself  had  ceased  to  beat  in  his  pulses,  and  his  heart 
itself  had  grown  cold.  Always,  too,  there  was  that 
hideous  sense  of  depression  sitting  like  a  dead  weight 
upon  his  shoulder,  a  strange,  sickening  sense  of  ap- 
prehension which  kept  him  suspicious  always  of  the 
slightest  change  or  movement  in  his  surroundings.  He 
began  to  wonder  whether  life  was  going  to  be  like  this 
always.  The  few  times  in  which  he  had  dared  to  think 
of  the  future  had  filled  him  with  something  like  terror. 

He  sat  at  his  desk  and  looked  out  into  the  room 
which  so  often  during  the  hours  of  his  work  he  had 
peopled  with  fancies  and  beautiful  thoughts  and  dreams 
and  hopes.  Always  he  had  been  an  idealist ;  perhaps, 
for  the  complete  success  of  his  work,  a  little  too  much 
so.  He  had  hoped  for  the  best,  he  had  believed  in 
the  best.  He  had  conceived  and  written  always  with 
the  stimulus  of  the  born  optimist.  This  sudden  plunge 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      153 

into  the  cold  waters  was  terrible  for  him.  He  sat  in 
his  place  with  bowed  shoulders,  and  his  brain  seemed 
empty  which  only  a  few  days  ago  had  teemed  with  joy- 
ous visions.  As  he  waited  there  the  seconds  seemed 
like  minutes  and  the  minutes  like  hours.  She  was  com- 
ing and  he  had  no  idea  what  he  should  say  to  her.  It 
couldn't  be  the  same  Sybil  who  was  coming.  Even 
though  she  stood  by  his  side,  even  though  her  fingers 
rested  upon  his  shoulders  and  her  breath  fell  upon 
his  cheeks,  it  couldn't  be  the  same!  Would  his  pulses 
beat,  he  wondered,  as  in  the  old  days  ?  Would  his  heart 
leap  with  the  joy  of  her  presence?  Would  his  physical 
self,  at  any  rate,  respond  to  her  coming?  These 
seemed  such  idle  questions,  yet  as  he  sat  there  he 
wondered,  wondered  without  hope,  with  little  more  save 
a  dull  and  hurtful  curiosity. 

When  at  last  she  came,  it  seemed,  indeed,  as  though 
she  were  a  very  different  person.  All  the  lightness 
and  the  grace  and  the  buoyancy  appeared  to  have 
passed  away  from  her.  She  was  still  and  pale  and 
cold.  Her  eyes  seemed  larger  and  they  were  encircled 
with  black  rims.  Even  Mr.  Norden  Smith  would  have 
admitted  that  at  least  she  was  not  acting  now.  She 
came  a  little  way  into  the  room  and  a  new  sensation 
thrilled  him,  a  sensation  which  he  welcomed  eagerly. 
Anything  was  better  than  the  dull  lethargy  from  which 
he  had  been  suffering.  The  rush  of  pity  which  came 
from  his  heart  even  dimmed  his  eyes.  He  rose  eagerly ; 
she  waved  him  back. 

"  Jermyn,"  she  said,  "  Mary  tells  me  that  you  are 
anxious  to  see  me  alone  for  a  moment  before  we  go. 
I  am  not  sure  that  it  is  wise  but  you  see  I  have  come." 

"  Not  wise !  "  he  repeated.     "  Oh,  Sybil !  " 


154      THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

She  closed  her  eyes  as  though  to  shut  out  the  sight 
of  him. 

"  Dear  Jermyn,"  she  went  on,  "  please  do  not  think 
that  I  want  to  ignore  those  things  which  have  passed 
between  us.  Nothing  can  ever  change  them,  nothing 
can  ever  make  me  feel  differently,  but  you  and  I  both 
know  that  a  new  thing  has  come  into  our  lives,  a  new 
knowledge  which  we  both  share.  It  is  no  longer  pos- 
sible for  us  to  speak  of  our  love.  It  is  better  for  us 
to  try  and  ignore  it." 

"Sybil,"   he  pleaded  — 

"  Ah,  no,  dear !  "  she  interrupted.  "  Don't  make  it 
harder  for  me.  I  think  that  you  and  I  both  under- 
stand. I  think  that  we  are  both  capable  of  judging 
an  action  broadly  and  generously  —  forgivingly.  But 
that  isn't  everything.  We  each  have  a  terrible  con- 
sciousness in  our  hearts,  a  consciousness  which  we  shall 
never  be  able  to  get  rid  of.  The  best  thing  we  can  do 
is  to  steal  away  and  fight  our  battle  alone.  I  could 
not  come  to  you ;  you  must  not  come  to  me.  Give  me 
your  hands,  Jermyn." 

She  held  them  in  hers  almost  passionately.  The  re- 
lief of  tears  shone  in  her  eyes,  her  lips  trembled  even 
into  a  faint  smile.  He  took  her  cold  little  fingers  in 
his.  His  heart  ached  with  a  passionate  desire  to  draw 
her  nearer  and  nearer,  yet  it  never  occurred  to  him  to 
yield.  There  was  something  between  them,  something 
invisible,  something  against  which  he  was  powerless. 

"  This  is  hard  for  us  both,"  she  continued  softly. 
"  I  never  dreamed  that  I  could  know  such  happiness  as 
I  felt  only  forty-eight  hours  ago.  Thank  you  for  it, 
Jermyn.  It  was  too  wonderful  altogether.  Now  it  is 
gone.  It  will  never  come  back ;  it  can  never  come  back. 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      155 

The  shadow  of  that  terrible  thing  must  rest  between 
us  always.  I  never  dreamed  how  awful  a  tragedy 
death  might  be." 

Again  she  closed  her  eyes.  She  swayed  a  little  on 
her  feet.  It  was  almost  like  a  moment  of  yielding.  A 
torrent  of  passionate  words  rose  to  his  lips.  He  felt  a 
sudden  strength,  a  sudden  wild  desire  to  tear  down  this 
intangible,  hateful  barrier.  No  matter  if  he  were 
thrown  back  time  after  time,  he  felt  a  wild  desire  to 
rebel.  Then  the  door  was  quietly  opened.  Lucille 
entered.  .  .  . 

Lucille  paused  upon  the  threshold  for  a  few  brief 
seconds.  Then  she  closed  the  door  behind  her  and 
slowly  advanced.  She  looked  from  one  to  the  other 
and  her  eyes  were  full  of  mysterious  yet  anxious  sym- 
pathy. Perhaps  of  the  two  women  she  was  at  that 
moment  the  greater  actress,  for  she  had  entered  the 
room  with  a  sickly  fear  at  her  heart  which  found  no 
expression  in  her  well-chosen  words.  She  adopted  the 
most  fitting,  the  most  kindly  pose.  She  was  simply 
the  friendly  hostess. 

"  I  really  hate  to  interrupt,"  she  said  softly,  "  but 
if  Miss  Cluley  must  catch  that  train  to  town  —  it  is 
the  last,  by  the  by  —  I  am  afraid  that  she  ought  to 
be  going.  It  is  already  twenty  minutes  past  three." 

Their  feet  were  back  again  upon  the  earth.  The 
exultation  of  the  moment  had  passed,  the  necessities  of 
life  were  paramount. 

"  I  most  certainly  must  leave  at  once,  then,"  Sybil 
declared  hastily.  "  I  had  no  idea  that  it  was  so  late." 

"  The  car  is  at  the  door,"  Lucille  told  her  gently. 
"  Your  maid  and  the  luggage  have  already  gone  on." 

Sybil  held  out  her  hand.     The  terror  was  once  more 


156      THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN 

in  her  eyes.  Jermyn's  heart  ached  for  her.  Words 
between  them  were  like  simple  pathos;  the  tragedy  of 
her  coming  and  going  was  too  great. 

"Good-by!"  he  said. 

She  gave  him  one  look  and  turned  away.  Lucille 
began  to  talk  as  they  left  the  room  —  the  grave,  con- 
siderate chat  of  a  hostess.  Mary  pounced  upon  them 
in  the  hall  and  took  Jermyn  by  the  arm. 

"  Dear  Jermyn,"  she  begged,  "  please  promise  that 
you  will  ask  us  down  again  very  soon?  And  give  my 
love  to  the  freckle-faced  boy,  please,  and  tell  him 
I  was  sorry  not  to  see  him  again." 

"  I'll  remember,"  Jermyn  assured  her. 

"  And  you'll  come  and  see  us  very,  very  soon,  won't 
you?  "  she  persisted.  "  Sybil  will  want  you  to,  so  shall 
I.  And  I'm  ever  so  glad,"  she  whispered  in  his  ear, 
"  that  you're  going  to  marry  Sybil." 

He  swung  her  up  into  her  place,  with  a  kiss  and  a 
light  word  of  farewell,  and  breathed  a  sigh  almost  of 
relief  as  the  car  swung  away.  Sybil's  veil  had  fallen 
but  for  him  it  concealed  nothing  of  the  misery  under- 
neath. He  stood  quite  still  upon  the  steps,  looking 
after  them  steadfastly.  He  scarcely  noticed  Lucille's 
arm  stealing  through  his.  She  looked  at  him  anxiously. 
Perhaps  she  realized  that  not  the  least  difficult  part 
of  her  task  was  still  before  her! 

"  Be  thankful,  Jermyn,  that  it  is  no  worse,"  she 
murmured. 

He  turned  upon  her  almost  fiercely. 

"  Worse?     What,  in  God's  name,  could  be  worse?  " 

"  The  prison  van  instead  of  your  new  Napier,"  she 
answered,  with  purposeful  brutality. 


CHAPTER  XX 

"  What  was  the  verdict?  " 

"  Willful  murder !     What  else  could  it  be?  " 

Jermyn  rose  to  his  feet  calmly  enough  and  left  the 
club  smoking-room  without  undue  haste  or  any  out- 
ward signs  of  having  overheard  the  conversation  which 
had  been  carried  on  within  a  few  feet  of  him.  Never- 
theless, the  two  men  looked  at  one  another  a  little  rue- 
fully. 

*fc  I  had  no  idea  that  Annerley  was  behind  that  pa- 
per," one  remarked.  "  I  am  afraid  he  must  have  over- 
heard." 

His  companion  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"  He  must  be  used  to  that  sort  of  thing,"  he  de- 
clared. "  He's  not  the  kind  of  fellow  to  care  about 
the  limelight,  either." 

"  Hate  it,  I  should  think.  One  rather  admires  his 
pluck,  under  the  cimcumstances.  I  hear  his  new  play 
is  coming  on  very  soon  with  Sybil  Cluley  in  the  prin- 
cipal part  —  that  is  if  nothing  happens  between  now 
and  then." 

The  man  who  had  introduced  the  subject,  smiled. 

"  What  should  happen?  "  he  demanded.  "  After  all, 
no  reasonable  person  connects  either  of  them  with  the 
affair.  No  motive,  for  one  thing." 

His  companion,  who  was  younger,  and  therefore 
more  of  a  cynic,  raised  his  eyebrows. 


158      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

"  One  never  knows,"  he  said.  "  I  think  I'd  answer 
for  Annerley  myself,  but  Sybil  Cluley  is  a  puzzle  to 
every  one.  One  doesn't  know  where  to  place  the 
young  comedy  actress  without  a  history." 

"  That's  your  beastly  point  of  view,"  his  older  friend 
declared.  "  Have  a  drink  ?  " 

The  fragment  of  conversation  which  he  had  over- 
heard stirred  no  new  emotion  in  Jermyn.  Its  own 
dramatic  qualities  and  the  omnipotence  of  the  half- 
penny press,  had  chosen  to  make  the  murder  of  Lord 
Lakenham  a  cause  celebre.  The  sensation  was  only 
now,  after  nearly  six  weeks,  abating  a  little  for  sheer 
lack  of  fuel.  There  seemed  to  be  nothing  more  to 
write  about.  To  all  appearance  the  police  had  dropped 
the  case.  Only  those  immediately  concerned  knew 
better.  Jermyn  himself  was  conscious  of  a  ceaseless 
surveillance.  Sybil  was  subjected  to  something  even 
more  rigorous.  These  two  alone,  perhaps,  knew  that 
there  was  no  slackening  in  the  hunt.  And  at  Scot- 
land Yard,  Inspector  Fielden,  who  was  in  charge  of  the 
case,  had  made  one  dogmatic  statement  from  which  he 
was  wholly  disinclined  to  budge. 

"  The  affair  was  done  by  an  amateur,"  he  pro- 
nounced. "  It  was  done  under  circumstances  which 
make  adequate  evidence  exceedingly  difficult  to  obtain. 
It  was  done  by  an  amateur,  however,  and  sooner  or 
later  the  inevitable  will  happen,  history  will  repeat 
itself  —  that  amateur  will  give  himself  or  herself  away. 
Any  one  can  commit  a  crime;  no  one  can  conceal  all 
traces  of  it  forever  but  a  person  with  the  instincts  of 
a  criminal." 

Jermyn  left  the  club  without  any  clear  idea  of  where 
he  was  going.  He  had  spent  several  hours  already, 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      159 

earlier  in  the  day,  in  his  study,  trying  in  vain  to  write. 
The  thought  of  an  immediate  return  to  it  was  sud- 
denly hateful.  Then  he  thought  of  Lucille ;  he  remem- 
bered his  duty  to  her.  He  had  not  seen  her  for  many 
days  and  her  presence  was,  at  any  rate,  always  sooth- 
ing. Slowly  he  made  his  way  to  Grosvenor  Street, 
where  she  had  a  small  house.  It  was  almost  his  first 
spontaneous  visit  to  her  since  his  return  to  London. 

Lucille  was  at  home  and  he  was  ushered  at  once  into 
her  dainty  little  drawing-room.  She  was  dispensing 
tea  to  two  visitors  when  he  entered,  both  of  whom 
seemed  to  Jermyn,  whose  nerves  were  all  on  edge,  a 
trifle  over-cordial  in  their  greeting  of  him.  It  was  as 
though  they  wished  him  to  understand  that  although 
they  were  aware  of  certain  unpleasant  rumors,  they 
were  prepared  to  disregard  them  and  to  range  them- 
selves on  his  side. 

"  This  is  indeed  an  unexpected  honor,  my  dear 
Jermyn,"  Lucille  declared,  smiling,  as  she  handed  him 
some  tea.  "  I  am  really  glad  to  see  you.  I  was  go- 
ing to  ring  you  up  this  afternoon." 

She  touched  his  fingers  fondly  as  they  met.  Her 
eyes  were  soft  and  bright  with  pleasure.  For  a  mo- 
ment he  allowed  himself  to  be  sufficiently  distracted 
from  his  dejection  to  watch  her  admiringly.  She  cer- 
tainly gratified  his  sense  of  the  picturesque,  both  as 
regards  her  own  personality  and  her  environment. 
She  wore  a  long  jacket  of  black  silk,  with  a  little  ruffle 
of  white  lace  at  her  throat  and  a  great  bunch  of  pink 
roses  drawn  carelessly  but  very  effectively  through  her 
waistband.  Her  face  seemed  to  have  lost  its  occasion- 
ally hard  expression  and  her  eyes  their  furtive  anxiety. 
She  seemed  somehow  younger,  seemed  to  have  tern- 


160      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

porarily  abandoned  her  more  matronly  pose  and  re- 
turned to  the  slim,  less  assured  elegance  of  girlhood. 
Her  setting,  too,  was  beautiful.  The  little  drawing- 
room  with  its  soft  gray  coloring  and  finely  selected 
French  furniture,  was  famous  not  only  for  its  treasures 
but  for  their  tasteful  arrangement.  Despite  a  certain 
reluctance  which  he  could  scarcely  analyze,  Jermyn, 
from  the  depths  of  the  easy-chair  into  which  she  had 
gently  forced  him,  watched  his  hostess  and  was  con- 
scious of  a  sense  of  serenity  which  certainly  the  club, 
and  more  certainly  his  own  rooms,  failed  in  those  days 
to  afford  him. 

"  I  do  love  to  see  my  friends  comfortable  at  this 
hour  of  the  day,"  Lucille  murmured,  after  she  had 
insisted  upon  the  easy-chair.  "  I  like  to  see  them 
lounge.  Complete  repose  is  such  a  stimulus  to  natural 
conversation.  I  have  always  noticed  that  people  who 
are  sitting  in  uncomfortable  chairs,  with  a  cup  of  tea 
in  one  hand  and  a  plate  upon  their  knees,  talk,  if  they 
talk  at  all,  in  a  stilted,  unentertaining  fashion." 

Lady  Florence  Effingham  nodded  approvingly. 
Mrs.  Starr  Hamilton,  who  was  the  other  caller,  smiled. 

"  Your  theory,  then,  is  that  a  state  of  repose  is  con- 
ducive to  entertaining  conversation?  " 

"  Absolutely,"  Lucille  admitted ;  "  especially  to  tea- 
time  conversation." 

"  Are  there  special  features,  then,  about  tea-time 
conversation?  "  Jermyn  inquired. 

"  Naturally,"  his  hostess  replied.  "  Tea-time  con- 
versation should  be  of  the  nature  of  gossip ;  good- 
natured  always,  if  possible,  and  leading  the  way  to 
confidences.  One  doesn't  look  for  epigrams  or  smart 
talk  at  this  hour  of  the  day." 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      161 

"  I'm  quite  sure  you  are  right,"  Lady  Florence 
agreed.  "  I  shall  increase  my  stock  of  easy-chairs  at 
once  and  perhaps  my  tea-parties  will  become  as  popular 
as  yours.  Tell  me,  Lucille  dear,  what  are  your  plans 
for  the  autumn?  Are  you  going  to  stay  in  town  or  go 
to  Scotland,  or  go  abroad  early?  I  wish  you  would 
come  to  us  at  Blicklyn." 

"  My  plans  are  scarcely  made  yet,"  Lucille  an- 
swered, after  a  momentary  hesitation.  "  I  am  not  sure 
—  it  depends." 

She  glanced  across  at  Jermyn,  who  was  talking  with 
Mrs.  Starr  Hamilton.  A  sudden  swift  and  splendid 
impulse  leaped  into  her  brain.  Why  not?  Jermyn 
had  come  to  her  of  his  own  accord.  He  seemed  in  an 
acquiescent,  almost  an  appreciative  mood.  It  was  time 
that  she  struck.  Perhaps  this  was  the  best  way.  She 
was  instinctively  convinced  that  the  moment  was  pro- 
pitious. 

"  I  do  not  know  that  I  ought  to  give  away  our  little 
secret  just  yet,"  she  said  softly,  glancing  across  at 
Jermyn  with  a  faint  suggestion  of  half  apologetic  in- 
quiry in  her  tone  and  the  lift  of  her  eyebrows. 
"  However,  I  suppose  it  doesn't  matter  very  much,  and 
Florence  is  one  of  my  oldest  friends." 

Lady  Florence  sat  suddenly  upright  in  her  chair. 

"  My  dear !     You  don't  mean  to  say  — " 

"  But  I  do,"  Lucille  interrupted.  "  Jermyn  and  I 
are  going  to  be  married  very  soon  indeed." 

There  was  something  in  Jermyn's  eyes  for  a  moment 
which  would  have  startled  either  of  his  two  fellow- 
callers  if  they  had  been  looking  his  way.  Lucille  saw 
it  and  went  cold.  After  all,  had  she  made  a  mistake? 

"  My  dear  —  my  dear  Lucille !  "  Lady  Florence 
cried,  holding  out  her  hands.  "  You  have  taken  my 


162      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

breath  away.  I'm  sure  I  congratulate  you  both  most 
heartily.  I  am  delighted." 

"  And  I,  dear  Duchess,"  Mrs.  Starr  Hamilton  echoed 
sweetly.  "  I  cannot  pretend,  unfortunately,  that  I 
know  either  of  you  as  well  as  Lady  Florence  does,  but 
you  must  let  me  wish  you  every  possible  happiness. 
Such  a  suitable  match,  too !  Really,  I  cannot  imagine 
why  we  never  thought  of  it  before,  except,  of  course, 
that  no  one  ever  does  marry  the  people  you  expect  them 
to." 

Lady  Florence  had  turned  to  Jermyn. 

"  My  heartiest  —  truly,  my  heartiest  congratula- 
tions, dear  Jermyn ! "  she  exclaimed,  emphatically. 
"  You  know  what  I  think  of  Lucille,  don't  you  ? 
There  is  no  one  quite  like  her.  You  are  indeed  for- 
tunate." 

Jermyn  had  risen  to  his  feet.  There  was  nothing 
left  of  that  glitter  in  his  eyes  but  his  voice  sounded 
hard ;  there  was  no  real  feeling  in  his  words. 

"  Thank  you  very  much,  Lady  Florence,"  he  said. 
"  Thank  you,  too,  Mrs.  Starr  Hamilton." 

Not  a  word  more,  no  reference  whatever  as  to  his 
good  fortune.  There  was  a  certain  grimness,  also, 
about  his  appearance,  which  had  a  repressing  effect 
upon  the  storm  of  questions  which  the  two  women  were 
prepared  to  launch.  For  a  few  moments  he  was  left 
outside  the  circle.  Lucille,  apparently  quite  at  her 
ease,  and  with  just  a  shade  of  most  becoming  color  in 
her  cheeks,  chatted  with  her  callers  almost  in  an  under- 
tone. Presently  they  took  their  leave.  Jermyn  es- 
corted them  to  the  door  and,  under  cover  of  a  second 
edition  of  congratulatory  speeches,  they  at  last  de- 
parted. .  .  . 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      163 

Lucille  was  awaiting  Jermyn's  return,  standing  upon 
the  hearthrug,  her  elbow  upon  the  mantelpiece,  her 
head  resting  upon  her  hand.  She  turned  eagerly  to- 
wards him  as  he  entered.  Her  eyes  were  soft  and 
bright  and  full  of  fire,  her  pose  exceedingly  graceful, 
her  little  gesture  of  appeal  rendered  entirely  natural  by 
that  slight  access  of  real  fear  from  which  she  was  in- 
deed suffering. 

"  Jermyn,  you  are  not  angry  with  me  ?  Tell  me  that 
you  are  not  angry  with  me,"  she  pleaded.  "  It  had 
to  be  done  soon,  you  know,  and  I  have  waited.  I  had 
hoped  that  it  might  have  come  from  you." 

He  closed  the  door  deliberately  behind  him.  Then 
he  came  over  to  her.  Her  heart  began  to  sink.  She 
was  at  her  best  and  she  had  failed  to  move  him.  There 
was  not  a  single  spark  of  admiration,  or  feeling  of  any 
sort  save  suffering,  in  his  hard,  thin  face. 

"  You  mean  to  take  your  pound  of  flesh,  then  ?  "  he 
asked,  wondering  a  little  at  the  sound  of  his  own  voice, 
which  seemed  to  come  from  a  great  distance. 

"  You  are  not  polite,"  she  murmured. 

He  flared  up.  The  sudden  impulse  of  passion  was 
good  for  him.  Even  she  was  not  sorry  to  see  it.  The 
icy  tension  of  the  moment  was  broken. 

"  What,  in  God's  name,  has  politeness  to  do  with  it?  " 
he  demanded.  "  Truth  is  the  only  thing  worth  count- 
ing between  you  and  me.  I  do  not  want  you,  Lucille. 
I'm  not  a  woman's  man  and  your  good  looks  and  your 
subtle  poses  are  nothing  to  me.  I  am  one  of  the  peo- 
ple of  this  generation  in  whom  you  don't  seem  to  be- 
lieve. I  love  one  woman  and  I  can  love  no  other." 

"  A  murderess !  "  she  whispered. 

"  Call  her  what  you  like,"  he  went  on  fiercely.     "  You 


164      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

call  yourself  a  woman  of  the  world,  you  pretend  to 
know  things,  you  talk  always  as  though  life  had  yielded 
to  you  the  keys  of  her  secret  chambers.  Don't  you 
know  as  much  as  this  ?  —  that  when  a  man's  in  earnest, 
the  woman  he  loves  may  be  a  poisoner,  a  sinner,  a  very 
Borgia,  if  you  will,  but  she  is  none  of  these  things  for 
him  —  not  for  him.  She  is  j  ust  the  woman  he  loves  — 
that's  all  that  counts.  There  isn't  anything  else." 

A  little  breath  came  through  her  teeth.  Her  face 
was  very  white,  her  eyes  shone. 

"  I  should  like  to  be  loved  like  that ! "  she  cried 
softly. 

"  Then  find  some  one  who'll  do  it,"  he  retorted,  with 
a  note  of  savagery  in  his  tone.  "  Don't  you  know  me 
well  enough,  Lucille,  to  understand  that  I  haven't  the 
gift  of  partition?  Where  love  is  concerned  I  am  the 
narrowest  person  who  ever  breathed.  Sybil  is  the  first 
woman  I  ever  cared  for  and  she  will  be  the  last." 

The  light  was  passing  from  Lucille's  face.  She 
seemed  suddenly  tired  and  older. 

"  Do  you  mean,  Jermyn,  that  you  would  marry  Sybil 
Cluley  to-day?" 

"  If  she  would  have  me,  I  would,"  he  answered 
readily.  "  In  the  study  at  Annerley,  the  day  she  left, 
I  would  have  asked  her  but  for  our  compact." 

She  turned  her  back  upon  him  for  a  moment.  Then 
she  laughed  shortly. 

"  You  amaze  me,"  she  declared.  "  Jermyn  Anner- 
ley, scholar,  man  of  letters,  an  aesthete,  a  humble  dis- 
ciple of  Epicurus,  an  aristocrat!  What  about  the  ob- 
ligations of  race  and  character  now,  my  dear  Jermyn?  " 

"  There  is  at  least  no  obligation  for  me  to  stay  here 
and  listen  to  your  tauntings ! "  he  exclaimed,  turning 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      165 

away.  "  I  have  discovered  what  I  came  to  find  out  — 
you  mean  to  hold  me  to  your  infernal  bargain ! " 

"  For  your  own  sake,  without  a  doubt,"  she  answered 
firmly.  "  You  shall  never  marry  Sybil  Cluley.  Fur- 
thermore," she  added,  "  if  you  take  my  advice  you  will 
keep  away  from  her.  I  suppose  you  know  that  she  is 
watched  night  and  day?  " 

"  Is  that  part  of  your  work  ?  "  he  demanded. 

She  shrugged  her  shoulders. 

"  My  dear  Jermyn,"  she  replied,  "  if  I  opened  my 
lips  at  all,  the  watching  would  soon  be  over!  If  I  did 
my  duty  and  spoke  just  half  a  dozen  words,  Sybil  Cluley 
would  spend  to-night  in  prison.  Be  careful  that  you 
don't  try  me  too  far.  Be  careful,  Jermyn ! " 

For  a  moment  they  both  stood  quite  still.  Her 
bosom  was  heaving,  her  eyes  flashing.  She  faced  him 
without  quailing  and  there  were  cruel  things  in  her  face. 
He  turned  and  left  the  house. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

Jermyn  had  rooms  in  Mount  Street,  to  which 
he  made  his  way  immediately  after  leaving  Lucille. 
The  house  in  which  they  were  situated  was  an  old  one, 
and  the  rooms  themselves  were  unusually  large  and 
somberly  furnished.  His  study  was  separated  from  his 
sleeping  apartment  by  old-fashioned  folding-doors. 
The  hangings,  pictures  and  upholstery  were  all  severe 
in  tone  and  a  little  gloomy.  Nevertheless,  the  whole 
place  was  very  much  more  to  his  taste  than  the  apart- 
ments to  be  obtained  in  modern  and  more  luxurious  flats. 
When  he  was  in  residence  for  some  time,  the  abundance 
of  topical  literature  and  reviews,  the  flowers  which  were 
sent  up  daily  from  Annerley,  the  general  air  of  habit- 
ableness  produced  by  these  means,  pleasantly  relieved 
the  severity  of  his  study.  It  possessed,  even,  an  air 
of  its  own,  which  he  found  soothing  and  into  which  he 
seemed  to  fit. 

His  servant  met  him  in  the  hall.  Parkes,  too,  was  an 
importation  from  Annerley  —  a  serious-faced,  con- 
scientious servant,  but  a  confirmed  pessimist. 

"  Mr.  Levenden,  sir,  has  been  ringing  up  from  the 
theatre  three  or  four  times,"  he  announced.  "  He 
would  like  to  speak  to  you  at  once  on  the  telephone." 

Jermyn  allowed  himself  to  be  relieved  of  his  hat  and 
stick  and  made  his  way  into  his  study.  The  telephone, 
almost  the  only  note  of  modernity  in  the  apartment, 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      167 

stood  by  the  side  of  his  easy-chair.  He  rang  up  the 
theatre  and  asked  for  Mr.  Levenden. 

"  I  understand  you  want  to  speak  to  me,  Mr. 
Levenden,"  he  said,  as  soon  as  a  familiar  voice  from 
the  other  end  had  answered  his  first  inquiry. 

"  That's  so,  Sir  Jermyn,"  was  the  prompt  reply.  "  I 
do  want  to  speak  to  you  particularly  —  matter  I  am 
most  anxious  about." 

"  Concerning  the  play  ?  "  Jermyn  asked. 

The  voice  at  the  other  end  hesitated. 

"  Yes,  concerning  the  play  —  indirectly.  I  wonder 
whether  you  could  possibly  come  round  for  a  moment. 
I  called  to  see  you  early  this  afternoon,  and  I  am  so 
infernally  busy  just  now.  Besides,  the  rehearsal  isn't 
over." 

"  I  will  be  round  in  ten  minutes,"  Jermyn  promised. 

Action  of  any  sort  was  a  relief  to  him.  He  walked 
to  the  theatre,  indulged  in  his  distaste  for  meeting 
friends  and  acquaintances  in  those  days  by  choosing 
the  by-ways  so  far  as  possible,  still  a  little  numb  from 
the  shock  of  Lucille's  declaration  and  the  realization 
of  the  price  which  he  was  called  upon  to  pay  for  Sybil's 
salvation. 

He  passed  through  the  stage  door  after  a  respectful 
greeting  from  the  commissionaire,  and  made  his  way 
towards  Mr.  Levenden's  room.  As  he  crossed  the  back 
of  the  stage  he  came  to  a  sudden  standstill.  The  re- 
hearsal was  still  in  progress.  He  heard  the  sound  of 
Sybil's  clear,  mocking  laugh,  followed  by  his  own  lines : 

"  Dear  Henry,  for  a  man  of  your  experience  you  are 
certainly  very  ignorant  of  women  and  their  ways. 
Nature  paid  us  an  unkind  trick  when  she  dealt  out  the 
counters,  when  she  made  men  ingenuous  and  women 


168      THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN 

subtle.  You  trust  too  easily,  my  friend.  The  best 
woman  in  the  world  will  look  you  in  the  face  and  lie 
for  the  sake  of  the  man  she  loves,  and  the  better  woman 
she  is,  the  more  convincingly  she  will  do  it." 

Jermyn  stole  on  tiptoe  to  where  he  could  catch  a  little 
glimpse  of  the  company  upon  the  stage.  With  a  sud- 
den thrill  he  passed  the  end  of  a  piece  of  scenery  which 
had  concealed  Sybil.  She  had  just  completed  her 
speech  and  was  laughing  into  the  face  of  the  man  to 
whom  she  had  made  it.  From  where  he  stood  she 
seemed  unchanged.  She  was  fashionably  dressed,  and 
the  little  fur  toque  with  its  scarlet  quill  sat  jauntily  on 
her  wealth  of  soft  brown  hair.  She  had  thrown  her- 
self entirely  into  her  part.  She  had  forgotten.  For 
a  moment  he  almost  envied  her  her  profession. 

Jermyn  found  Mr.  Levenden  in  his  room,  signing  let- 
ters, and  Mr.  Levenden  was  unfeignedly  glad  to  see  him. 
He  wheeled  up  an  easy-chair  for  his  visitor,  placed 
cigarettes  at  his  elbow,  and  himself  closed  the  door 
behind  his  secretary,  whom  he  bustled  out  of  the  room. 

"  This  is  rather  like  the  mountain  coming  to 
Mahomet,  Sir  Jermyn,"  he  declared.  "  It's  awfully 
good  of  you  to  come  round  like  this.  I  can't  tell  you 
how  much  I  have  to  do  these  days." 

"  It  was  perfectly  convenient  for  me  to  come,'* 
Jermyn  assured  him.  "  I  can't  pretend  to  be  a  busy 
man  like  you.  What's  the  matter?  Anything  gone 
wrong  in  rehearsal?  Perhaps  you'd  like  me  to  take 
one  this  week?  I  suppose  I  ought  to,  really." 

"  It  isn't  that,"  Mr.  Levenden  replied.  "  We  are 
always  glad  to  have  you  there,  you  know,  but  just  at 
first,  while  we  go  through  the  groundwork  of  stage  di- 
rections, that  isn't  so  important.  Your  manuscript  and 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      169 

author's  notes  are  always  so  clear.  It's  another  little 
matter  that's  bothering  me." 

Jermyn  took  up  a  cigarette  and  lit  it. 

"  If  I  can  be  of  any  service,"  he  murmured. 

"  The  part  of  *  Nora ',"  Mr.  Levenden  pronounced, 
"  is  an  exceedingly  difficult  one." 

"  Surely  not  too  difficult  for  Miss  Cluley  ?  "  Jermyn 
interposed,  smiling. 

"  Not  in  the  least,"  the  manager  assented,  hastily. 
"  Please  don't  misunderstand  me.  On  the  contrary,  it 
bids  fair,  so  far  as  one  can  tell  at  present,  to  be  one  of 
her  greatest  successes." 

"Then  what  is  the  trouble?" 

"  It  is  such  a  good  part,"  Mr.  Levenden  continued, 
"  and  it  suits  Miss  Cluley  so  marvelously  well,  that  I 
am  at  my  wits'  end  to  find  an  understudy  who  could 
even  speak  the  lines,  much  more  act  them.  So  far,  I 
may  tell  you,  Sir  Jermyn,  I  haven't  come  across  any  one 
who'd  be  the  slightest  use,  and  without  going  to  the 
'  stars  '  I  scarcely  see  where  I  am  going  to  find  her. 
'  Nora '  is  Miss  Cluley  and  Miss  Cluley  is  '  Nora '. 
Without  her  it  would  be  simply  hopeless." 

"Well?" 

The  manager  moved  uneasily  in  his  chair.  He  was 
always  a  little  afraid  of  this  strange  young  man,  who 
seemed  to  have  wandered  into  theatreland  from  some 
region  which  he,  at  any  rate,  knew  nothing  about. 
Jermyn's  face  during  the  last  few  moments  had  grown 
very  austere.  He  had,  perhaps,  some  premonition  of 
what  was  coming. 

"  The  long  and  the  short  of  it  is,  Sir  Jermyn,"  Mr. 
Levenden  said  at  length,  "  that  there's  been  a  lot  of  talk 
about  that  unfortunate  affair  down  at  Annerley,  and 


170      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

during  the  last  few  days  there  have  been  persistent 
rumors,  rumors  one  can't  afford  altogether  to  neglect." 

"  Concerning  whom?  " 

Jermyn's  words  were  like  drops  of  ice  but  the  man- 
ager was  not  unduly  sensitive.  Besides,  it  was  a  mat- 
ter of  business  with  him. 

"  Concerning  Miss  Cluley.  I  was  told  this  morning 
by  some  one  upon  whose  word  I  can  generally  rely,  that 
Miss  Cluley  would  be  in  prison  within  a  week." 

Jermyn  stood  quite  still.  The  fingers  which  held  his 
cigarette  did  not  even  tremble. 

"  You  can't  believe  such  rubbish  as  this,  Mr.  Leven- 
den,"  he  protested. 

"  I  don't  want  to  believe  it,"  Mr.  Levenden  retorted, 
eagerly.  "  I  am  bound  to  face  facts,  though,  and 
there  is  this  big,  black,  ugly  one  standing  straight  in 
front  of  me,  and  that  is  that  if  this  rumor  should  turn 
out  to  be  even  founded  upon  the  truth,  then  all  the 
money  I  put  into  the  play  will  be  lost.  I  can't  af- 
ford to  risk  such  a  situation,  Sir  Jermyn,  and  that's 
the  truth.  I've  had  other  losses." 

"  If  this  is  how  you  are  feeling,  Mr.  Levenden," 
Jermyn  said,  "  I  am  glad  that  you  have  sent  for  me. 
Let  me  tell  you,  as  one  who  should  know  something 
about  the  facts,  that  your  fears  are  entirely  ridiculous. 
There  is  no  more  chance  of  Miss  Cluley's  being  ar- 
rested on  this  charge  than  there  is  of  my  being  called 
upon  to  answer  for  it  myself.  I  am  surprised  that  you 
should  have  listened  to  such  foolish  rumors.  It  is 
absolutely  impossible  to  connect  Miss  Cluley  with  the 
death  of  Lord  Lakenham  in  any  way  whatsoever." 

Though  Levenden  seemed  somewhat  relieved,  he  was 
not  wholly  convinced. 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      171 

"  There's  a  great  deal  of  talk,"  he  insisted,  "  and 
I  don't  see  where  it  all  comes  from." 

"  It  comes  from  people  who  know  nothing  whatever 
about  the  matter,"  Jermyn  declared.  "  Lord  Laken- 
ham  and  Miss  Sybil  Cluley  were,  to  my  certain  knowl- 
edge, on  the  friendliest  of  terms.  They  had  only  met 
the  day  before,  and  Lord  Lakenham  was  already  her 
admirer." 

The  manager  drummed  with  his  fingers  upon  the  desk 
before  which  he  was  sitting. 

"  There  is  a  persistent  rumor,  Sir  Jermyn,"  he 
pointed  out,  "  that  such  was  not  the  case.  I  have  heard 
it  stated  most  confidently  that  Lord  Lakenham  had 
known  Miss  Cluley  in  her  less  prosperous  days,  in  the 
days  before  she  came  to  London." 

"  We  can  none  of  us  be  responsible  for  rumors,  Mr. 
Levenden,"  Jermyn  said  coldly. 

Mr.  Levenden  felt  that  he  was  scarcely  getting  on, 
but  the  thought  of  his  closed  theatre  acted  as  a 
stimulus. 

"  I  can  assure  you,  Sir  Jermyn,"  he  went  on,  "  that 
I  most  sincerely  hope  that  it  is  so.  No  one  could  have 
a  greater  respect  and  regard  for  Miss  Cluley  than  I 
have,  and  her  behavior  at  all  times,  both  in  the  theatre 
and  out  of  it,  has  been  entirely  and  exceptionally  ir- 
reproachable. At  the  same  time,  the  police  make  mis- 
takes sometimes  and  I  cannot  afford  to  put  all  my  eggs 
in  one  basket.  I  want  to  take  this  opportunity  of  ask- 
ing you,  Sir  Jermyn,  how  you  would  regard  a  proposi- 
tion to  transfer  Miss  Cluley's  part  to  Ida  Hamilton, 
provided,  of  course,  we  could  induce  Miss  Hamilton  to 
accept  it?  " 

"  I   can   answer  you  very   briefly,"   Jermyn   replied, 


172      THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

without  a  moment's  hesitation.  "  I  would  sooner  put 
the  manuscript  of  my  play  upon  the  fire  than  have  it 
appear  under  such  circumstances." 

"  Miss  Hamilton  has  a  large  following,"  the  man- 
ager persisted.  "  She  is,  as  you  know,  quite  one  of  our 
most  brilliant  actresses,  and  she  has  had  experience. 
I  believe  that  she  would  make  a  huge  success  of  the 
part." 

"  The  question  of  Miss  Hamilton's  capacity  does  not 
interest  me,"  Jermyn  remarked.  "  My  play  was  writ- 
ten for  Miss  Cluley  and  she  alone  will  play  the  part  of 
'  Nora '.  I  trust  that  you  have  not  hinted  anything  of 
this  to  her?  " 

"  I  have  not  said  a  word,"  Mr.  Levenden  assured 
him  hastily.  "  Of  course,  if  that  is  your  feeling  there 
is  no  more  to  say  about  it.  We  must  hope  for  the  best, 
although  I  must  admit  that  I  am  anxious." 

"  What  would  your  loss  be  in  the  event  of  the  theatre 
having  to  close  for  the  reason  you  suggest?  "  Jermyn 
asked. 

Mr.  Levenden  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"  Anything  up  to  four  or  five  thousand  pounds." 

"  I  take  the  responsibility,"  Jermyn  promised.  "  If 
the  run  of  the  piece  is  stopped,  or  if  it  is  never  pro- 
duced through  anything  happening  to  Miss  Cluley  of 
the  nature  you  suggest,  I  take  the  losses  upon  my 
shoulders.  I  will  be  content  to  accept  a  statement  from 
your  accountant  as  to  the  amount." 

Mr.  Levenden  drew  a  sigh  of  relief. 

"  Sir  Jermyn,"  he  said,  "  you  are  behaving  like  a 
prince.  You  have  taken  a  big  load  off  my  shoulders." 

Jermyn  rose  to  his  feet. 

"  You    have   been    anticipating    trouble    quite    need- 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      173 

lessly,  Mr.  Levenden,"  he  declared  confidently.  "  By 
the  way,  I  propose  attending  rehearsals  myself  next 
week.  Will  you  see  that  I  get  the  calls  ?  " 

"  With  pleasure,  Sir  Jermyn  —  with  pleasure !  " 
Mr.  Levenden  assented,  making  a  note  upon  a  memo- 
randum tablet.  "  Mount  Street  still,  I  suppose?  I  am 
only  too  glad  you  are  coming.  To  tell  you  the  truth, 
you  know,  that  was  another  point  which  was  exciting  a 
little  comment.  Before  her  visit  to  Annerley  Court, 
this  very  unfortunate  visit,  you  and  Miss  Cluley  were  a 
great  deal  together.  Since  this  affair  we  have  scarcely 
seen  you  at  the  theatre.  I  have  heard  it  said  that  since 
that  time  you  have  not  been  seen  to  speak  to  her." 

Jermyn  frowned. 

"  I  had  no  idea  that  such  comments  would  have  been 
made,"  he  said.  "  I  have  not  been  in  London  very 
long.  The  reason  I  have  perhaps  seen  less  of  Miss 
Cluley  is  that  I  have  recently  become  engaged  to  the 
Duchesse  de  Sayers.  If  such  remarks  as  those  to  which 
you  allude  have  been  made,  however,  I  shall  take  an 
early  opportunity  of  setting  matters  right." 

"  I  congratulate  you,  I  am  sure,"  Mr.  Levenden 
ventured,  "  congratulate  you  most  heartily.  Upon  my 
word,  it's  rather  a  relief  to  hear  you  so  confident  about 
Miss  Cluley.  As  nice  a  young  lady  as  ever  breathed, 
quiet  and  a  real  worker.  It  would  be  a  horrible  shame 
to  have  her  upset  in  any  way." 

Jermyn  took  up  his  hat. 

"  If  they  haven't  all  gone,"  he  remarked,  "  I  should 
like,  after  what  you  have  told  me,  to  see  Miss  Cluley 
for  a  few  minutes." 

"  An  excellent  idea,"  Mr.  Levenden  agreed. 

The  two  men  walked  out  together.     The  rehearsal 


174      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

itself  was  over  but  every  one  was  talking  cheerfully  to- 
gether in  a  corner  of  the  barely-lit  stage.  Sybil  had 
just  taken  leave  of  the  others  and  was  on  her  way  out. 
Jermyn,  with  a  word  of  farewell  to  the  manager  and 
a  wave  of  the  hand  to  the  rest  of  the  company,  hur- 
ried after  her. 

"Miss   Cluley  — Sybil!" 

She  turned  quickly  around  and  stood  for  a  moment 
quite  still.  In  the  gloom  of  the  ill-lit  place,  with  its 
cavernous  shadows,  she  appeared  to  him  to  look  like  a 
ghost.  He  realized  in  that  moment  gpmething  of  the 
anguish  through  which  she  had  passed.  They  held 
hands  for  a  moment  almost  in  silence.  Then,  con- 
scious of  the  little  group  at  the  further  end  of  the 
stage,  they  commenced  to  talk  banalities.  In  the  nar- 
row passage  outside,  Jermyn  felt  suddenly  weak.  The 
slight  perfume  of  her  hair,  her  familiar  clothes,  her 
close  presence,  all  affected  him  powerfully.  He  took 
her  hand  and  drew  her  unresistingly  towards  him. 

"  Dear ! "  he  murmured.     "  Dear  Sybil !  " 

Her  eyes  shone  into  his  like  stars.  They  were  alone 
and  he  seemed  caught  up  on  the  wings  of  a  new  pas- 
sion. A  splendid  recklessness  possessed  him.  He  held 
her  tightly  to  him  and  kissed  her  on  the  lips. 

"  Don't,  dear  Jermyn,"  she  implored, — "  don't !  " 
-  ,He  released  her  at  once.     She  was  making  a  piteous 
little  face  at  him  but  somehow  he  felt  the  better  for 
that  single  wild  moment.     He  felt,  too,  that  at  the  bot- 
tom of  her  heart  she  also  was  glad  of  it. 

"  I  am  sorry,"  he  said,  "  or  rather  I  am  not  sorry.  I 
want  to  talk  to  you,  Sybil.  May  I  take  you  home  ?  " 

She  shook  her  head. 

"  I  am  not  going  home,"  she  told  him.     "  I  am  meet- 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      175 

ing  Mary  at  a  tea-place  and  afterwards  we  are  going  to 
the  Gaiety" 

"  Where  is  the  tea-place?  "  he  inquired.  "  I  can 
take  you  there,  at  any  rate." 

"  In  St.  James's  Street." 

He  sent  the  commissionaire  for  a  taxicab  and  handed 
her  in. 

"  It  is  quite  time  I  saw  Mary  myself,"  he  declared, 
"  and  before  I  go  I  have  something  to  tell  you." 

"  News  ?  "  she  asked,  suddenly  paling. 

"  Not  that  sort  of  news,"  he  answered  hastily. 
"Nothing  about  — it." 

She  leaned  back  in  the  cab  with  a  little  sigh  of  con- 
tent. 

"  Don't  let's  talk  at  all  just  yet,"  she  begged.  "  Sit 
by  my  side  —  like  this.  I  want  to  rest,  to  try  and  im- 
agine for  a  moment  that  nothing  has  happened  at  all 
except  a  nightmare  —  a  long,  awful  nightmare. 
Humor  me,  dear,  please." 

He  obeyed  at  once,  only  he  took  her  hand  and  held 
it  in  his.  So  they  rode  in  silence  through  the  busy 
streets,  her  eyes  shining  as  she  looked  steadily  ahead, 
he  most  of  the  time  watching  her,  so  slim  —  and  quiet 
—  to-night,  it  seemed  to  him,  so  fragile.  Then  they 
drew  up  suddenly  before  Rumpelmayer's.  She  looked 
like  a  child  awakened  from  a  dream.  A  policeman, 
walking  slowly  by,  glanced  into  their  cab.  His  heart 
ached  as  he  saw  her  little  start  of  fear,  saw  the  old  look 
creep  momentarily  into  her  eyes.  Then  she  saw  him 
watching  her  and  a  little  smile,  piteous  though  it  was, 
parted  her  lips. 

"  I  am  foolish,  am  I  not?  Never  mind,"  she  added, 
bravely,  "  those  five  minutes  were  worth  having." 


CHAPTER  XXII 

Mary  and  a  severe-looking  maid  were  waiting  for 
them  upon  the  pavement.  The  former  welcomed 
Jermyn  with  a  little  cry  of  delight. 

"  You  bad,  bad  Jermyn ! "  she  exclaimed,  with  real 
reproach  in  her  tone.  "  But  oh !  it  is  good  to  see  you 
again ! " 

Jermyn  held  the  child's  hands  tightly  in  his. 

"  You'll  have  to  forgive  me,  Mary  dear,"  he  begged. 
"  I  haven't  been  in  London  so  very  long,  you  see,  and 
here  we  are  together  again  at  last,  anyhow." 

"  You're  going  to  have  tea  with  us  ?  "  she  insisted. 

"  Tea ! " 

Jermyn  glanced  at  his  watch. 

"  Tea  at  this  time  of  the  evening !  Do  you  know 
that  it  is  nearly  seven  o'clock?  " 

"  I  couldn't  get  away  before,"  Sybil  explained,  "  and 
anyhow,  we  girls  are  not  such  slaves  as  men  are  to  meals 
at  regular  hours." 

Jermyn  smiled. 

"  Well,  I  propose  dinner  —  dinner,  say,  at  the  Milan, 
in  the  grill-room,  with  ices  and  boxes  of  chocolates 
afterwards.  What  do  you  say  to  that,  Mary?  Isn't 
that  better  than  tea  and  sugared  cakes?  " 

"  I  say,  yes !  "  Mary  decided  promptly.  "  I  think  it 
would  be  just  lovely.  I've  had  tea,  really,  hours  ago." 

"  Are  you  sure  that  you  can  spare  the  time  ?  "  Sybil 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      177 

asked.  "And  what  about  your  own  engagements? 
Aren't  you  dining  anywhere?  " 

"  I'm  dining  with  you,"  Jermyn  declared.  "  Some- 
how, I  felt  an  undue  sense  of  exhilaration  creeping  over 
me  a  little  time  ago.  I  must  have  known.  Come  along 
—  here's  a  taxi." 

"  Couldn't  we  go  to  a  quieter  place  than  the  Milan?  " 
Sybil  suggested,  doubtfully. 

"  The  child  will  like  it,"  Jermyn  said.  "  Besides  — 
I  have  another  reason  for  going  there.  Let  it  be  the 
Milan,  if  you  please,  and  let  us,"  he  went  on,  lowering 
his  voice  — "  let  us  make  believe  a  little  longer,  Sybil. 
You  and  I  and  Mary  are  just  going  to  forget." 

Mary's  ears  and  her  intelligence  were  alike  sharp. 
She  overheard  and  clapped  her  hands. 

"  Yes,  yes ! "  she  cried  eagerly,  "  let  us  forget  all 
about  Lord  Lakenham!  I  don't  think  he  could  have 
been  really  nice  or  he  wouldn't  have  made  so  much 
trouble." 

Sybil  looked  at  her  reproachfully. 

"  Mary ! " 

"  Don't  be  shocked,  please,  Sybil,"  the  child  con- 
tinued. "  I  can't  help  it.  Everything  was  so  beauti- 
ful before  and  everything  has  been  so  dull  and  miser- 
able since." 

"  To-night,"  Jermyn  interposed  quickly,  "  it  is  go- 
ing to  be  beautiful  again.  I  agree  altogether  with 
Mary.  It  is  our  duty  to  be  cheerful.  While  Mary 
drinks  ginger  beer,  we  will  drink  Pommery.  We  will 
eat  and  drink  and  be  merry  and  forget  the  end  of  the 
quotation." 

They  reached  the  cafe  and  were  received  at  once  by 
the  chief  maitre  d'hotel  with  many  bows  and  expres- 


178      THE   WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

sions  of  pleasure.  They  selected  a  table  in  a  corner 
which  was  not  too  inconspicuous,  and  Jermyn  took  up 
the  menu. 

"  We  will  consult  Henri  here  about  our  dinner,"  he 
declared.  "  There  must  be  chicken,  of  course,  and 
chocolate  ice,  and  for  us  sensible  people,  Sybil,  what  do 
you  say?  Sole  a  la  Normandy?  What  do  we  eat?  " 

"  I  am  not  sure  that  I  have  not  forgotten,"  Sybil 
answered.  "  I  think  that  Mary  mostly  gives  the  orders 
at  home." 

Jermyn  gave  some  brief  instructions  to  the  waiter. 

"  And  Pommery  Brut  1904"  ne  wound  up.  "  And 
now  tell  me  about  this  young  lady !  When  does  she  go 
to  that  boarding-school?  " 

Mary  made  a  wry  face. 

"  I  wish  you  hadn't  reminded  me,"  she  complained, 
a  little  dolefully. 

"  Mary  is  going  to  Brussels  to-morrow,"  Sybil  said. 
*'  I  know  that  she  is  going  to  be  very  happy  and  I  am 
sure  that  it  is  best  for  her.  Of  course,  I  shall  miss  her 
more  than  I  can  say,  but  there  is  nothing  for  her  to  do 
at  all  when  I  am  at  the  theatre,  and  there  is  so  much 
rehearsing  just  now." 

"  There  are  always  holidays,"  Jermyn  remarked 
cheerfully.  "  There  are  always,  too,  trips  to  Brussels. 
One  can  get  to  Brussels  very  easily,  nowadays,  you 
know." 

Mary  clapped  her  hands. 

"  You  will  come,"  she  cried, — "  you  and  Sybil,  too  ? 
Oh,  you  must !  " 

"  We  will  come,"  Jermyn  promised.  "  Don't  be 
afraid  of  that,  little  lady.  We  will  come  and  charm 
you  from  behind  those  gray  stone  walls  and  show  you 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      179 

some  of  the  vanities  of  life.  It  is,  I  presume,  a  modern 
establishment  to  which  Mary  is  going?  " 

"  Fairly  modern,  I  think,"  Sybil  agreed. 

Mr.  Levenden  passed  by  with  a  party  of  friends,  and 
stopped  to  greet  them  in  some  surprise.  Others  of  the 
company  were  there,  too,  and  at  a  table  only  a  few 
yards  away,  a  hard-featured,  commonplace  looking 
man  with  a  black  moustache,  who  looked  a  trifle  out  of 
place  in  such  surroundings,  sat  eating  his  dinner  with 
a  paper  propped  up  before  him,  yet  with  his  eyes  wan- 
dering often  around  the  room.  He  never  seemed  to 
glance  towards  either  Sybil  or  Jermyn,  but  once  they 
exchanged  a  look  and  they  knew.  Jermyn  tossed  off  a 
glass  of  wine. 

"  My  attendant,"  he  whispered. 

She  shook  her  head. 

"  Surely  mine !     I  see  him  wherever  I  go." 

He  leaned  towards  her.  Mary's  attention  had  been 
distracted  by  the  entrance  of  some  American  children, 
with  bows  of  enormous  size  in  their  hair. 

"  Dear,"  he  said,  "  sometimes  I  wish  I  had  talked  to 
you  more  openly.  What  I  want  you  to  believe  is  that 
they  may  watch  and  watch  and  suspect,  but  the  thing 
is  dead.  There  is  no  more  evidence  to  be  swept  up. 
The  cleverest  men  in  the  world  would  only  find  all  the 
doors  locked.  The  shadow  is  terrible,  lying  across  our 
path  all  the  time,  but  the  danger  is  over  —  there  is  no 
more  danger." 

"  You  really  believe  that?  "  she  asked,  with  a  little 
gasp  of  relief. 

"  I  am  sure  of  it,"  he  answered.  "  For  the  rest,  I 
wish  I  could  take  away  even  those  other  and  darker 
thoughts.  You  know  as  well  as  I  do  that  Lakenham 


i8o      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

was  not  a  good  man.  You  know  as  well  as  I  do  what 
sort  of  a  bargain  he  was  trying  to  drive.  Such  a  man 
invites  reprisals.  It  is  part  of  the  game  he  plays  and 
part  of  the  risk  he  runs." 

She  closed  her  eyes  for  a  moment.  When  she  opened 
them  again,  however,  something  of  the  haggard  suf- 
fering seemed  to  have  passed  from  her  face. 

"  I  am-  glad  we  have  spoken  of  this,"  she  said.  "  To- 
night —  no,  not  to-night,  perhaps,  but  very  soon  —  I 
am  going  to  tell  you  of  that  chapter  of  my  past  which 
Lord  Lakenham  recalled  to  me,  and  which  drove  me 
almost  mad  with  terror.  You  shall  know,  Jermyn,  and 
you  shall  judge.  After  all,  it  doesn't  matter  very  much 
now,  does  it  ?  " 

Mary  once  more  claimed  their  attention.  From  that 
point  their  little  feast  became  almost  uproarious. 
They  chatted  of  the  play  and  its  possibilities;  they 
talked  nonsense  as  they  might  have  done  a  few  months 
ago.  For  that  hour,  at  any  rate,  they  had  stepped  out 
of  the  shadow.  The  man  who  looked  over  his  paper 
and  watched  them  every  now  and  then,  saw  nothing  in 
their  faces  of  brooding  care.  To  all  appearance  they 
were  the  lightest-hearted  little  group  in  the  place. 

At  a  few  minutes  past  eight,  Jermyn  drove  with 
them  to  the  Gaiety  and  left  them  at  the  door.  Sybil 
turned  round  to  wave  her  hand  as  they  disappeared. 
The  old  delightful  smile  had  parted  her  lips ;  her  eyes 
shone  into  his.  There  was  even  a  dash  of  the  old 
coquetry  in  the  way  she  carried  her  head,  in  the  swing 
of  her  exquisite  figure.  Jermyn  stood  on  the  pavement 
for  a  moment  or  two  after  they  had  disappeared. 
Then  he  turned  away  and  drove  to  his  rooms.  .  .  . 

That  night  a  very  demon  of  unrest  possessed  him. 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      181 

He  had  no  engagements  and  he  had  proposed  to  spend 
the  evening  over  some  work  he  was  doing  for  a  review. 
His  efforts  to  settle  down,  however,  were  all  in  vain. 
His  brain  was  full  of  torturing  thoughts.  Out  of  the 
shadows,  Lucille  seemed  continually  to  come  and  mock 
him  with  her  smooth,  cold  voice,  the  curve  of  her  lips, 
the  gleam  of  her  eyes,  passionate  yet  minatory.  He 
heard  her  calm  yet  graceful  announcement  of  their 
engagement,  the  little  ripple  of  interest,  the  pressure 
of  the  fingers,  the  honeyed  words  of  those  women  who 
only  that  afternoon  had  forced  their  congratulations 
upon  him.  Then  he  saw  Lakenham,  cold  and  dead; 
saw  the  small  ivory  pistol  which  Lucille  had  secreted; 
saw  the  fragments  of  Sybil's  gown  upon  the  floor;  saw 
her  crushed  roses  lying  by  the  side  of  the  murdered 
man's  hand;  saw  her  still,  cold  face  the  first  time  they 
had  met  afterwards.  All  the  happiness  of  the  evening 
seemed  to  pass  away  like  breath  from  the  face  of  a 
mirror.  He  could  forget  no  longer.  He  was  a  prey 
to  torturing  thoughts.  The  kiss  which  he  had  given 
her  burned  upon  his  lips.  He  thought  of  her  as  she 
had  stood  upon  the  steps  of  the  theatre,  smiling  at  him 
innocently,  joyously,  with  that  wonderful  lure  in  her 
eyes  which  a  French  critic  had  once  raved  about. 

He  tried  to  read  but  it  was  in  vain.  His  pulses 
seemed  to  be  beating  at  fever  heat,  his  temples  were 
throbbing.  He  threw  open  the  window.  Although  it 
was  now  early  October,  it  was  a  soft,  warm  night. 
There  were  stars  in  the  sky,  a  yellow  moon,  the  faintest 
movement  of  the  trees  in  the  distant  square.  Dimly  he 
could  hear  the  roar  of  the  city.  The  sky  southwards 
was  stained  with  the  reflection  of  its  million  lights.  He 
had  wasted  hours.  The  theatres  were  emptying  now. 


182      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

He  could  see  her  driving  homewards,  leaning  back  in 
the  taxi,  thinking,  perhaps,  of  him.  He  could  see  the 
whole  procession  of  carriages  and  cabs,  the  throngs  in 
the  streets,  the  great  pleasure-loving,  pleasure-sated 
crowd  passing  backwards  and  forwards  to  the  gayly-lit 
restaurants,  or  to  their  homes,  to  whatever  feast  might 
await  them  upon  the  table  of  life.  And  he  sat  there 
alone  with  his  books,  without  any  human  being  to  bear 
him  company.  A  crowd  of  unfamiliar  thoughts  came 
rushing  into  his  brain.  After  all,  he  was  a  man  like  the 
others.  His  was  the  same  birthright,  even  though  he 
had  not  chosen  to  fritter  it  away  in  small  love-affairs, 
in  the  flirtations  of  salad  days.  Yet  he  was  not  dif- 
ferent from  others.  Deep  down  in  his  being  there  was 
a  passion  as  strong  and  compelling  as  it  is  given  to 
any  man  to  feel;  chained,  perhaps,  by  reason  of  a  cer- 
tain discriminating  fastidiousness,  a  religious  sense  of 
offering  it  in  its  entirety,  but  tearing  now  at  its  chain 
wildly,  madly.  Some  breath  of  wind,  a  strain  of  music, 
a  fragrant  memory,  perhaps  the  lingering  sweetness  of 
that  kiss  upon  his  lips,  had  brought  him  an  evil  turn. 
As  he  stood  there,  he  felt  the  slow  fire  burning  up  in 
his  veins.  There  was  but  one  woman  in  this  world  for 
him,  whether  he  died  to-morrow  or  lived  to  the  full  meas- 
ure of  his  days.  Weren't  the  by-ways  of  the  world 
filled  with  men  whom  opportunities  had  passed  by  ?  His 
hand  crept  to  his  waistcoat  pocket.  Once  more  he  felt 
the  key  which  Mary  had  asked  him  to  keep  for  her  as 
they  had  entered  the  restaurant.  A  crowd  of  be- 
wildering, magnificent,  quivering  thoughts  struggled 
into  his  mind.  He  thrust  them  down,  only  to  find  them 
leap  up  again,  stronger  and  stronger  every  time.  He 
stood  like  a  man  at  bay,  fighting  with  some  unchained 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      183 

thing  in  his  life  of  whose  very  existence  he  had  scarcely 
dreamed.  A  prig,  some  men  had  called  him,  because 
he  had  been  a  clean  liver;  a  cold-blooded  sort  of  chap, 
a  well-known  theatrical  manager  had  once  said  of  him 
at  a  supper-party.  Both  accusations  were  true,  per- 
haps, in  their  way,  but  Jermyn  knew  now  that  his  time 
had  come.  Again  and  again  he  threw  himself  into  his 
chair  and  struggled  with  his  work.  It  was  the  very 
vainest  of  efforts.  Some  new  power  possessed  him ; 
some  new,  invincible  force  was  stupefying  his  will. 

He  rose  and  crept  out  into  the  hall.  Silently  though 
he  went,  Parkes  heard  him  and  glided  to  his  side. 

"  You  are  going  out,  sir?  "  he  asked. 

"  For  a  little  time,"  Jermyn  answered. 

"Will  you  dress,  sir?     Your  things  are  all  ready." 

Jermyn  shook  his  head. 

"  I  will  go  as  I  am.     Get  me  my  coat  and  hat." 

He  passed  out  into  the  night.  The  air  was  -soft, 
the  broad  streets  were  packed  with  motor-cars  and  taxi- 
cabs  and  electric  broughams.  Women  in  snowy-white 
opera  cloaks,  be  jeweled,  beautified  by  the  impression 
which  was  all  one  could  gather  of  them,  leaned  back 
amongst  the  cushions;  well-satisfied  men  sat  by  their 
sides.  A  boy  and  a  girl  drove  by  in  a  hansom,  with 
their  arms  unblushingly  around  one  another.  There 
were  couples  walking  arm  in  arm  along  the  pavement, 
and  whispering  as  they  went.  It  was  some  devil  that 
was  in  the  atmosphere  that  night,  some  witchery  which 
had  started  the  call  to  which  for  so  long  his  blood  had 
failed  to  respond.  He  hailed  a  passing  taxi  and 
jumped  in. 

"  Burley  Court,"  he  told  the  man. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

Sybil  drew  the  reading  lamp  a  little  nearer  her  and 
opened  a  copy  of  her  part.  Her  little  flat  was  on 
the  topmost  floor  of  the  building  and  at  eleven  o'clock 
the  street  outside  was  almost  deserted.  Her  maid  had 
gone  to  bed.  Sybil's  solitude  was  immeasurable  and 
complete.  The  very  quietness  beguiled  her  thoughts 
away  from  her  work.  Calm  and  self-composed  though 
she  tried  to  remain  throughout  the  days,  it  was  these 
lonely  hours  which  she  sometimes  feared.  To-night  the 
battle  was  to  begin  afresh.  She  felt  them  coming,  all 
those  demons  of  regret  and  memory  against  which  she 
seemed  to  be  fighting  always  a  losing  battle.  She  rose 
to  her  feet  and  looked  half  wildly  around  her.  If  only 
there  could  be  escape ! 

The  clock  ticked  steadily  on,  a  little  piece  of  coal 
fell  on  to  the  hearth  and  sizzled  out.  There  was  no 
sound  upon  which  she  could  focus  her  attention,  no  way 
of  escape  from  the  thoughts  which  were  already  quick- 
ening the  beating  of  her  heart.  Then  something 
happened,  something  entirely  unexpected.  The  lift 
stopped  at  the  flat  below.  Some  one  stepped  out  and 
commenced  to  ascend  the  few  remaining  stairs.  Sybil 
glanced  at  the  clock.  A  visitor  at  such  an  hour  was  an 
impossibility.  She  moved  to  the  sitting-room  door  and 
stood  with  it  open  in  her  hand,  waiting  for  the  bell. 
But  there  was  no  bell.  A  key  was  fitted  into  the  lock ; 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      185 

the  door  was  slowly  opened.  A  little  cry  broke  from 
her  lips,  a  cry  which  died  away  before  it  was  half  ut- 
tered. It  was  Jermyn  who  entered. 

Her  lips  faltered  his  name.  She  gazed  at  him  in 
blank  astonishment.  He  closed  the  door  behind  him; 
then  he  came  softly  towards  her  and  passed  by  her  side 
into  the  sitting-room.  All  the  time  her  eyes  never  left 
his  face.  There  was  a  change  there,  something  she  did 
not  understand. 

"  Mary  gave  me  her  key  to  take  care  of  to-night," 
he  whispered. 

"  But  why  have  you  come  -=—  now  —  at  this  time  of 
night?  " 

His  eyes  told  her.  There  was  a  new  thing  there, 
something  which  half  gladdened  and  half  terrified  her. 

"  Because  I  couldn't  help  it ! "  he  cried  hoarsely. 
"  Because  I  couldn't  keep  away !  All  the  time  this  key 
has  been  burning  in  my  pocket,  and  there  is  something 
which  you  must  be  told,  something  which  was  there  be- 
fore me  like  a  black  shadow  all  the  time  we  sat  at  din- 
ner, something  I  have  tried  to  strangle  but  can't, 
something  I  must  tell  you  to-night." 

"  Something  more  ?  "  she  faltered.  "  Oh,  my  God ! 
Something  more?  " 

"  I  am  going  to  marry  Lucille  de  Sayers." 

She  shrank  a  little  away  yet  she  did  not  seem  to 
wholly  understand.  There  was  a  certain  stricken  hor- 
ror in  her  face  but  her  chief  expression  was  still  one 
of  bewilderment. 

"  You  are  going  to  marry  the  Duchesse  de  Sayers  — 
to  marry  her?  I  don't  understand,  Jermyn." 

"  I  am  going  to  marry  her,"  he  muttered,  "  very 
soon." 


186      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

"There  is  some  reason  for  this?"  she  asked,  with 
trembling  lips. 

"  There  is,"  he  answered. 

"  You  must  tell  me  at  once,"  she  insisted, — "  at 
once,  mind.  I  thought  that  I  had  enough  to  bear,  but 
this  — !  Tell  me,  why  are  you  doing  it  ?  " 

"  Because  she  knows  !  "  Jermyn  said  slowly. 

Sybil  for  a  moment  was  stupefied;  her  brain  seemed 
to  refuse  to  work.  Then  she  began  to  laugh  —  a  queer 
little  unnatural  sound. 

"  Because  —  she  knows,"  she  repeated.  "  Jermyn, 
you  must  write  a  melodrama  about  it.  Do  things  really 
happen  like  this  ?  " 

"  It  is  the  price  of  her  silence,"  Jermyn  went  on. 
"  I  couldn't  believe  her  myself  at  first  but  she  is  in 
earnest.  She  knows  and  she  insists." 

She  drew  Jermyn  towards  a  chair  and  seated  herself 
on  an  ottoman  by  his  feet. 

"  You  poor  man ! "  she  murmured,  with  quivering 
lip.  "  If  only  I  had  never  come  on  that  ill-fated  visit ! 
Jermyn,  doesn't  it  seem  all  too  horrible  ?  That  man  — 
oh,  how  terrified  I  have  been  of  him!  He  is  dead,  so 
what  I  am  going  to  say  must  sound  horrible,  and  yet 
it  is  the  truth ;  it  is  my  one  consolation  both  by  day 
and  by  night.  He  was  a  brute  —  he  was  not  fit  to 
live." 

"  You  are  right,"  Jermyn  admitted,  almost  eagerly. 
"  It  was  the  pendulum  of  justice  which  swung.  Aynes- 
worth  deserved  his  fate.  Yet  you  and  I  must  carry  the 
burden  of  it  on  our  shoulders  all  our  days." 

"  Does  she  know,"  Sybil  asked,  "  that  you  —  that 
you  do  not  care?  " 

He  laughed  hardly. 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      187 

"  She  knows,"  he  reminded  her,  "  that  on  the  morn- 
ing of  that  day  I  told  her  that  I  was  the  happiest  man 
on  earth  because  you,  the  only  woman  I  had  ever  loved, 
had  promised  to  marry  me.  She  knows  at  least  that 
I  am  not  capricious." 

"  Is  it  that  she  cares,  do  you  think?  " 

"  In  her  way,"  Jermyn  replied, —  "  yes,  in  her  way 
she  cares." 

"How  did  she  — find  out?" 

"  Her  hand  was  down  at  bridge.  She  walked  along 
the  terrace,"  he  answered  wearily.  "  Oh,  she  knows 
right  enough!  And,  Sybil,  she  isn't  quite  like  other 
women.  She  isn't  altogether  English,  you  know.  She 
is  full  of  queer  passions  and  humors.  I  believe  that 
she  was  on  the  very  point  of  telling  the  truth  that 
night." 

Sybil  covered  her  face  with  her  hands. 

"  Sometimes  it  all  seems  too  much  for  me,"  she  said 
quietly.  "  Night  after  night  I  sit  here  and  the  tortur- 
ing thoughts  come,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  no  one  was 
ever  so  miserable,  that  no  one  ever  could  be  so  unhappy. 
Now  there  is  this  —  you  are  going  to  marry !  " 

"  Don't  talk  as  though  it  were  a  matter  of  choice, 
for  God's  sake !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  I  marry  to  save  — " 

"  Don't ! "  she  interrupted. 

"  I  marry  to  keep  a  bargain,  then,"  he  went  on.  "  I 
marry  to  seal  that  woman's  lips.  I  wish  to  heavens 
I  had  wrung  her  neck  before  I  had  ever  let  her  come 
to  Annerley ! " 

Sybil  in  those  few  moments  looked  like  a  woman  for 
whom  the  storms  of  life  were  over,  a  woman  who  had 
suffered  so  greatly  that  she  had  passed  through  to  the 
other  side.  She  was  very  quiet  and  very  pale ;  her  voice 


i88      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

seemed  to  have  become  monotonous;  she  seemed  to  be 
speaking  and  thinking  mechanically. 

"  Jermyn,"  she  said,  "  in  the  future  it  is  quite  cer- 
tain that  I  shall  not  see  very  much  more  of  you.  To- 
night, then,  I  will  tell  you  something  that  has  been  in 
my  mind.  I  will  tell  you  why  I  was  terrified  to  death 
of  Lord  Lakenham ;  I  will  tell  you  why  he  transformed 
me  into  a  madwoman  that  awful  night  in  the  billiard- 
room." 

"  Yes,"  Jermyn  assented,  "  let  me  hear !  Not  that 
it  makes  any  difference  now,  but  between  us,  at  least, 
let  there  be  absolute  truth." 

"  My  success  on  the  stage,"  Sybil  continued,  "  was  a 
fluke.  For  six  months  before  my  engagement  at  the 
Imperial  Theatre,  I  was  more  or  less  half  starved,  and 
all  that  time  Mary  was  terribly  ill.  The  worst  month 
of  my  life  was  when  I  was  with  a  little  stock  company 
at  Blackpool.  You  remember  the  page  I  cut  out  of 
the  illustrated  paper?  Yes,  I  can  see  you  remember. 
It  was  because  that  month  at  Blackpool  was  mentioned. 
It  was  before  Lord  Lakenham  remembered.  Blackpool 
would  have  brought  it  all  back  to  him." 

"  You  understand,"  Jermyn  interrupted  hoarsely, 
gripping  at  her  hand, —  "  not  a  word  unless  it  is  your 
own  wish  to  tell  me?  " 

"  It  is  my  own  wish,"  she  assured  him.  "  It  is  all 
very  humiliating  but  it  is  not  so  terrible.  It  is  my  own 
wish  to  tell  you  the  whole  truth.  Somehow,  as  I  sit 
here,"  she  went  on,  her  eyes  fixed  upon  the  fire,  "  I  seem 
to  have  lost  all  the  ordinary  feelings  of  life.  Even  if 
it  were  worse,  I  could  tell  you  and  feel  very  little. 
Lord  Lakenham  was  at  Blackpool.  It  was  before  he 
came  into  the  title,  but  he  was  well  known.  He  made 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      189 

friends  with  the  manager  of  our  company.  You  know 
what  such  men  are.  Lord  Lakenham  was  a  little  god 
to  him.  He  was  allowed  to  wander  about  our  theatre 
as  he  liked.  Unfortunately,  he  ignored  everybody  else 
but  he  took  a  fancy  to  me.  It  was  the  affair  of  a  mo- 
ment only  with  him  —  just  one  of  these  hateful  im- 
pulses which  come  to  a  man  of  his  type  —  but  he  pur- 
sued me  all  the  time;  I  had  seldom  a  moment's  peace. 
I  was  half  starved,  and  in  the  midst  of  it  all  the  doctor 
told  me  that  unless  Mary  was  taken  to  London  and 
operated  upon,  her  spine  would  probably  go  wrong, 
she  would  never  be  able  to  stand  up  or  run  about  like 
other  girls ;  and,  above  all  things,  that  I  must  give  her 
nourishing  food  and  plenty  of  it.  All  the  time  I  felt 
my  own  strength  going,  and  I  was  earning  twenty-five 
shillings  a  week!  I  got  into  debt  and  Mary  grew 
worse.  I  want  to  tell  you  this  story  in  as  few  words 
as  possible  so  I  won't  pile  on  the  miseries.  All  the 
time  Lord  Lakenham  was  pursuing  me.  All  the  time, 
too,  he  was  behaving  with  devilish  cunning.  When  I 
had  no  idea  where  to  look  for  a  meal,  he  sent  baskets 
of  hothouse  roses.  When  I  was  longing  for  beef-tea 
for  Mary,  he  filled  my  sitting-room  with  mimosa  —  or 
would  have  done  if  I  hadn't  thrown  it  into  the  street. 
At  last  the  end  came.  One  Friday  our  manager  wasn't 
there.  The  show  was  finished,  there  wasn't  a  penny  for 
anybody.  Lord  Lakenham  came  to  the  rescue.  He 
gave  every  one  the  money  to  get  back  to  London  and 
then  he  turned  to  me.  What  was  there  left?  I  bor- 
rowed fifty  pounds  from  him  and  told  him  he  could 
come  to  London  in  a  fortnight  and  —  and  I  would  re- 
pay him." 

For  the  first  time  her  voice  broke  a  little.     Jermyn 


igo      THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

had  gone  white.  It  seemed  to  him  that  a  live  hatred 
was  blazing  in  his  heart  for  a  dead  man. 

"  I  went  to  London,"  she  continued.  "  I  put  Mary 
into  a  private  hospital.  I  paid  —  paid  everything  to 
start  her  there  properly.  There  was  a  slight  opera- 
tion and  in  a  few  days  she  was  a  different  child.  Then 
that  engagement  at  the  Imperial  Theatre  came,  by  the 
wildest  of  accidents.  When  I  opened  the  papers  the 
next  morning,  I  could  have  screamed.  I  was  a  success. 
The  struggle  was  over.  And  behind  it  all  there  was  — 
you  know  what.  Then  I  made  up  my  mind  —  I  would 
not  pay.  I  think  that  in  my  heart  I  never  meant  to 
pay  and  live.  I  left  my  rooms  hurriedly  and  moved 
to  another  part  of  London.  I  took  no  notice  of  Lord 
Lakenham's  letters  or  his  telegrams.  I  hid.  I  had 
only  one  fear,  and  that  was  that  he  would  come  to  the 
theatre  and  recognize  me.  I  had  changed  my  name, 
I  altered  the  fashion  of  doing  my  hair,  I  altered  my 
appearance  as  much  as  I  possibly  could.  I  dressed 
extravagantly  and  in  a  different  style,  on  purpose.  I 
tried  to  get  as  far  away  as  I  could  from  the  white,  half- 
starved  little  girl  of  Blackpool,  in  case  I  should  see 
him  anywhere.  At  first  he  wrote  me  continually.  He 
even  advertised  in  the  theatrical  papers.  Then  his  fa- 
ther died,  he  came  into  the  title  and  there  was  silence. 
He  forgot,  of  course.  I  saw  him  several  times  with 
musical  comedy  young  ladies,  but  I  had  passed  out  of 
his  mind.  I  never  met  him  face  to  face  again  until 
that  day  on  the  platform  of  Wickombe  Annerley  sta- 
tion when  I  came  to  visit  you,  and  when  I  saw  him 
there  I  very  nearly  turned  round  and  ran  back  home 
again." 

Jermyn  took  a  long  breath. 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      191 

"  It  isn't  so  terrible,  Sybil,"  he  said  quietly. 

She  was  satisfied.  They  both,  for  a  moment,  reveled 
in  a  feeling  of  comparative  content. 

"  In  a  way,  it  isn't,"  she  confessed,  "  but  I  never 
sent  him  back  the  fifty  pounds.  I  was  afraid.  I  soon 
saved  the  money  but  I  couldn't  tell  how  to  let  him  have 
it  so  that  he  couldn't  trace  the  sender,  so  I  gave  it 
to  the  Actors'  Benevolent  Fund  anonymously,  with  his 
initials." 

He  shook  his  head  at  her  although  his  eyes  were 
kind. 

"  Little  girl,  little  girl,"  he  said,  "  why  didn't  you 
tell  me  the  whole  story  directly  you  arrived  at  Anner- 
ley?  I  could  only  see  that  you  were  terrified.  It  is 
all  harmless  enough.  Life  has  its  terrible  side  for  some 
people,  and  fate  chose  to  set  you  down  in  a  hateful 
place.  You  couldn't  have  done  anything  else." 

"  Oh,  I  was  a  fool  not  to  tell  you !  "  Sybil  confessed. 
"  I  wish  you  could  have  seen  into  my  heart.  It  was 
you,  dear  Jermyn,  of  whom  I  was  afraid.  Can't  you 
understand,  too,  that  in  those  first  days,  in  those  first 
hours  of  that  wonderful  life,  when  you  told  me  that  you 
cared  and  all  of  a  sudden  everything  was  so  changed, 
the  thought  of  Lord  Lakenham  and  his  admiration  was 
like  a  hateful,  a  hideous  discord?  You  were  so  dif- 
ferent, Jermyn,  and  mixed  with  all  my  love  was  just  a 
little  fear  of  you.  I  had  always  hoped  that  there  were 
some  few  men  in  the  world  like  you,  but  you  were  the 
first  whom  I  had  met,  and  I  was  afraid  that  when  you 
heard  of  those  ugly  days,  I  should  come  toppling  down 
in  your  thoughts.  You  know  that  I  have  been  good, 
dear  —  you  would  believe  that  —  but  you  have  so  much 
beautiful  sentiment.  I  felt  that  even  the  thought  of 


iQ2      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

those  things  and  of  Lord  Lakenham  would  somehow 
destroy  the  beauty  of  those  first  few  days." 

"  My  dear,"  he  murmured,  "  am  I  not  human  like 
other  men?  Could  you  really  have  thought  me  such 
an  intolerable  prig?  " 

"  Oh,  I  was  wrong  —  wrong !  "  she  admitted  sorrow- 
fully. "  I  just  went  by  the  way  I  felt.  I  wouldn't 
think  —  I  wouldn't  use  my  brain.  But,  of  course,  it 
was  a  fallacy.  Because  we  were  living  in  a  paradise, 
it  was  foolish  to  imagine  that  one  could  shut  out  the 
knowledge  that  many  people  in  the  world  like  Lord 
Lakenham  live  in  pig-styes.  But  I  was  so  happy  to 
have  found  my  little  corner  in  life,  and  I  was  so  terri- 
bly afraid  of  losing  it." 

She  was  sitting  on  the  arm  of  his  chair  now,  her  hands 
clasped,  her  eyes  fixed  upon  her  interlocked  fingers. 
He  leaned  over  her,  his  fingers  touched  her  shoulder. 
The  room  was  going  round.  What  business  had  men 
to  plan  their  lives  with  their  brains?  Those  might 
do  that  who  were  immune  against  the  great  forces  of 
the  world. 

"  Sybil,"  he  whispered,  "  it's  all  terrible,  but  to- 
night, as  I  sat  in  my  room,  something  came  to  me, 
some  new  thing,  something  I  don't  understand  even 
now.  Only  it  seemed  so  big  and  it  made  everything 
else  seem  so  small.  I  couldn't  keep  away  from  you. 
I  felt  that  I  must  tell  you  everything  and  tell  you  this. 
Sybil,  I  have  promised  nothing  but  my  name,  I  will 
give  nothing  but  my  name.  Sybil,  for  me  all  my  days, 
for  all  the  days  of  my  life,  there  is  no  other  woman  but 


you 


t" 


She  shivered  a  little.     He  dropped  on  one  knee  by 
her  side.     The  consciousness  of  her  near  presence  set 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      193 

him  quivering  like  a  boy,  his  arm  half  hesitatingly 
went  around  her  waist. 

"  Dear,"  he  went  on,  "  look  up.  There  isn't  any- 
body else  in  the  world  I  love,  there  isn't  anything  else 
I  shall  ever  desire  except  you  —  your  kisses,  the  feel 
of  your  arms,  the  light  from  your  eyes.  There  is  no 
one  else  with  whom  I  could  ever  walk  in  the  gardens 
of  Paradise." 

She  was  trembling  violently.  Her  hand  stole  out 
as  though  to  keep  him  away. 

"  Jermyn,"  she  faltered,  "  we  aren't  like  that  —  you 
and  I.  Oh,  I  have  loved  you  so  much  because  I  know 
that  you  belong  to  the  wonderful  world,  and  it's  the 
world  I  have  struggled  so  hard  to  keep  my  little  place 
in  through  all  the  troubles !  " 

"  Should  we  lose  it  ? "  he  demanded.  "  Once  I 
should  have  answered  very  decidedly,  but  that  was  be- 
fore I  cared,  before  I  knew  what  a  wonderful  thing 
love  is,  love  which  comes  but  once  in  a  lifetime,  which 
one  knows  is  eternal.  There  isn't  a  thought  comes 
now  from  my  heart  worth  having,  Sybil,  that  hasn't 
a  little  of  you  in  it.  There  isn't  a  beautiful  place  I 
can  look  into  without  finding  it  empty  unless  you  are 
there." 

She  turned  her  head ;  she  looked  at  him  wildly.  Her 
lips  were  quivering,  her  eyes  were  full  of  the  strange 
things. 

"Jermyn!" 

He  caught  her  into  his  arms.  His  lips  followed  hers 
as  her  head  sank  back.  Then  they  heard  a  little  voice 
quite  close,  and  a  little  clapping  of  hands. 

"Hurrah!" 

For  a  moment  they  remained  as  though  turned  to 


194      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

stone.  Slowly  Sybil  opened  her  eyes,  raised  her  head 
and  looked  around.  Mary  was  standing  in  the  open 
doorway  of  the  room,  in  her  nightgown.  She  beamed 
upon  them  with  the  air  of  one  who  has  made  a  delight- 
ful discovery. 

"  Oh,  I  am  so  glad  that  you  two  are  friends  again !  " 
she  exclaimed.  "  I  thought  I  heard  voices  and  I  just 
peeped  in  to  see.  You  didn't  even  hear  me  open  the 
door.  You  silly  people!  I  do  believe  that  you've 
just  made  up  a  quarrel." 

She  came  a  little  further  into  the  room,  helped  her- 
self to  an  apple  from  a  dish,  and  sat  and  looked  at 
them,  swinging  her  slippered  feet. 

"  I  am  so  glad,  really,"  she  went  on,  "  because, 
Jermyn,  you  will  be  able  to  look  after  Sybil,  won't  you, 
while  I  am  away  at  boarding-school,  and  she  won't  be 
nearly  so  lonely  then." 

"  Yes,"  Jermyn  answered,  "  I  shall  be  able  to  do 
that." 

"  Whatever  made  you  come  so  late  at  night?  "  the 
child  asked,  selecting  a  place  to  bite  at  her  apple. 

"  I  came  to  bring  back  the  key  you  gave  me  to  take 
care  of,"  Jermyn  reminded  her. 

"What  jokes!"  Mary  exclaimed,  gleefully.  "I 
didn't  ask  for  it  back,  on  purpose.  I  thought  perhaps 
you'd  have  to  come.  But  I  am  glad  that  you  and  Sybil 
are  quite,  quite  friends  again.  You  are,  aren't  you?  " 

"  Yes,  we  are,"  he  answered.  "  I  think  that  we  can 
promise  her  that,  can't  we,  Sybil?  " 

She  smiled  at  him  without  meeting  his  eyes. 

"  Of  course,  I  expect  I  shall  like  boarding-school," 
Mary  continued,  "  because  I  love  having  other  girls  to 
play  with  and  talk  to  and  that  sort  of  thing,  but  the 


THE    WAY    OF    THESE   WOMEN      195 

one  thing  that  spoiled  it  all  was  that  I  was  so  afraid 
that  Sybil  would  be  very  lonely  when  I  was  gone.  Now 
I  shall  feel  quite,  quite  happy.  Watch  me,  Jermyn !  " 

She  threw  the  core  of  her  apple  into  the  heart  of 
the  fire  and  looked  at  him  triumphantly. 

"  Don't  you  wish  you  could  throw  in  as  straight  as 
that  every  time?"  she  asked.  "Jermyn,  are  you  go- 
ing to  see  me  off  to-morrow  from  Victoria?  " 

"  I  will  if  I  possibly  can,"  he  promised.  "  And  I 
think  — " 

He  glanced  at  the  clock  and  stretched  out  his  hand 
for  his  hat.  Sybil's  eyes  suddenly  met  his  and  there 
was  a  wonderful  look  in  them. 

"  We'll  both  let  him  out,  Mary,  and  then  I  must 
put  you  to  bed,  dear,"  she  said. 

Jermyn  laid  the  key  upon  the  table.  Mary  locked 
her  arms  through  his.  Sybil  walked  gravely  by  his 
other  side  but  when  they  reached  the  door  she.  gave 
him  both  her  hands.  He  stooped  and  kissed  her  upon 
the  forehead. 

"  Dear,"  he  whispered,  "  I  understand  —  I  know." 

Then  he  kissed  Mary  and  they  closed  the  door  upon 
him.  Sybil  stood  quite  still  for  a  moment,  listening 
to  his  departing  footsteps.  Then  she  caught  Mary  up 
in  her  arms,  and  her  eyes  were  full  of  tears. 

"  You  dear,  funny  old  thing ! "  Mary  exclaimed,  as 
they  turned  back  to  the  sitting-room.  "  All  these  days 
and  days  when  you've  been  so  miserable,  you've  never 
cried  once,  because  I've  watched  to  see;  and  now  to- 
night when  you  are  happy  —  you  are  happier,  aren't 
you,  Sybil  dear?  —  look  at  those  silly  tears!" 

Sybil  smiled  as  she  felt  for  her  handkerchief. 

"  Life  is  like  that  sometimes,  dear,"  she  said. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

Jermyn  received  a  somewhat  imperative  note  from 
his  fiancee  the  next  afternoon,  and  in  obedience  to 
it  he  shortly  presented  himself  in  Grosvenor  Street. 
Lucille  welcomed  him  with  a  slight  frown  upon  her 
beautiful  face.  She  was  dressed  for  the  street  and 
waiting  alone  in  her  little  drawing-room. 

"  Of  course  you  know,"  she  told  him,  "  that  you  are 
at  least  twenty  minutes  late.  If  I  weren't  conscious 
of  having  made  a  most  superbly  successful  toilette, 
I  should  be  quite  annoyed.  I  have  been  spending  the 
time  looking  at  myself  in  the  glass.  Don't  you  think 
that  you  would  like  to  send  the  car  away  and  walk  down 
Bond  Street  with  me?  " 

She  turned  slowly  around.  She  was  wearing  a  won- 
derfully made  gown  of  soft  gray  velvet  with  chinchilla 
trimming,  a  hat  to  match,  and  gray  shoes  and  stock- 
ings. 

"  As  an  artist,  now,  my  dear  Jermyn,  confess  that 
you  never  saw  a  more  beautiful  effect,"  she  went  on,  ar- 
ranging a  bunch  of  parma  violets  at  the  bosom  of  her 
gown.  "  If  you  were  at  all  sensible  of  the  obligations 
of  your  position,  you  would  feel  an  amazing  desire 
to  embrace  me  upon  the  spot." 

She  turned  to  face  him  with  her  arms  slightly  ex- 
tended. Jermyn,  without  moving,  looked  at  her  a  little 
grimly. 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      197 

"  Unfortunately,"  he  said,  "  I  have  never  been  able 
to  understand  the  point  of  view  of  the  man  who  is  able 
to  desire  embraces  from  two  women  at  the  same  time. 
I  happen,  as  you  know,  to  care  for  somebody  else." 

The  brilliant,  provocative  look  passed  suddenly  from 
her  face.  An  angry  light  shot  from  her  eyes. 

"  It  is  scarcely  in  the  best  of  taste  to  remind  me  of 
it,"  she  declared,  quickly. 

"  My  retort,"  he  reminded  her,  "  would  be  a  little 
obvious." 

She  held  out  her  hand. 

"  Please  don't  go  on,"  she  begged.  "  There  will  be 
time  enough  for  us  to  quarrel  after  we  are  married. 
The  car  is  waiting." 

"I  am  sorry,"  Jermyn  said;  "I  have  just  come  to 
explain  that  I  cannot  go  out  with  you  this  afternoon." 

She  stopped  short  on  her  way  to  the  door. 

"  And  why  not?  " 

"  I  must  go  to  the  theatre,"  he  answered.  "  We 
have  been  obliged  to  change  the  hour  of  our  rehearsal 
to-day.  Miss  Cluley  had  to  see  her  sister  off  to  Brus- 
sels this  morning.  We  are  rehearsing  at  three  o'clock 
instead  of  at  eleven.  I  am  on  my  way  there  now." 

"  Is  your  presence  at  every  rehearsal  necessary  ?  " 

"  Perhaps  not  absolutely  necessary,"  he  replied. 
"  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  a  great  pleasure  to  me  and 
a  compliment  which  I  think  I  owe  to  my  artists." 

"  Do  you  owe  nothing  to  me?  "  she  demanded.  "  I 
promised  my  cousins  a  week  ago  that  you  should  go 
to  Merchester  House  with  me  this  afternoon." 

"  What  I  owe  to  you,"  he  said  gravely,  "  I  shall 
do  my  best  to  pay." 

She  came  over  to  him,  laid  her  hands  suddenly  upon 


ig8      THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

his  shoulders  and  smiled  up  into  his  face.  She  ignored 
his  impassiveness.  Her  lips  seemed  almost  to  court 
his. 

"  Jermyn,"  she  begged,  "  do  not  be  angry  with  me. 
I  know  that  I  am  foolish  and  jealous  —  sick  with 
jealousy  of  Sybil  Cluley.  It  is  foolish  of  me  because 
I  know  that  you  care  for  her  just  now  and  that  you 
think  you  don't  care  for  me,  but  if  only  I  could  make 
you  believe  it  —  you'll  care  for  me,  dear,  long  after 
you've  forgotten  her.  She  is  just  a  little  flash  of  moon- 
shine. She  hasn't  much  of  a  soul;  she  isn't  much  of 
a  human  being,  anyway.  Jermyn,  you  can  take  me 
with  you,  hand  in  hand,  into  worlds  which  would  be  all 
strange  to  her,  worlds  she  could  never  even  enter.  Don't 
be  foolish,  please.  Don't  give  away  the  best  part  of 
yourself  to  her  while  I  am  hungering  for  you.  Don't 
come  to  me  as  a  harsh,  unpleasant  duty  and  think  of 
yourself  as  a  martyr.  Am  I  not  as  good-looking  as 
she  is,  Jermyn?  People  would  tell  you  so.  I  know  I'm 
cleverer.  She  makes  herself  attractive  because  she  has 
all  the  stage  tricks.  She  can  keep  herself  in  the  lime- 
light all  the  time.  It  isn't  a  great  gift  to  be  able  to 
act  prettily,  you  know,  Jermyn.  You  and  I  used  to 
agree  with  Hazlitt.  We  never  believed  that  the  real 
fire  ever  burned  in  the  mummer's  heart." 

Jermyn  remained  unmoved.  He  held  his  head  even 
a  little  higher. 

"  Lucille,"  he  said,  "  you  treat  me  as  though  I  were 
a  boy,  to  be  humored  all  the  time  into  obedience  to 
your  whims.  Don't  you  think  it  is  a  little  foolish  of 
you?  I  am  thirty-one  years  old,  you  know.  Sybil 
Cluley  may  be  anything  you  like  to  call  her.  That  is 
just  your  point  of  view.  So  far  as  I  am  concerned, 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      199 

she  is  the  only  woman  I  have  ever  cared  for;  she  is  the 
only  woman  I  ever  shall  care  for." 

Lucille  shivered  but  she  did  not  move  away.  She 
crept  even  a  little  closer  to  him,  straining  as  though 
to  take  him  into  her  arms,  her  eyes  pleaded  with  him. 

"  Jermyn,  all  my  life  I  have  cared.  I  have  always 
hoped  and  hoped  that  some  day  you  might  care  a  lit- 
tle, too.  Do  you  blame  me  for  still  believing  that  you 
will?  There  isn't  any  one  who  could  make  you  such 
a  good  wife  as  I  shall.  I  wouldn't  bind  you  to  me 
if  I  didn't  know  this.  Use  a  little  common  sense,  dear. 
Sybil  Cluley  could  never  be  your  wife.  You  know 
that.  So  long  as  she  lives  there  would  always  be  the 
shadow." 

"  Even  if  I  grant  you  that,"  he  interrupted  hoarsely, 
"what  difference  does  it  make?  I  care  for  her  just 
the  same.  I  am  not  likely  to  feel  any  the  kinder  to- 
wards you  because  I  can't  marry  the  only  woman  I  care 
about." 

"  Dear,  it's  so  impossible,  and  when  things  are  really 
impossible,  they  generally  die  away,  you  know.  Think, 
Jermyn  —  you  used  to  be  very  proud  of  your  people, 
dear;  you  know  them  all  by  name,  those  last  twelve 
baronets,  Lords  of  the  Manor  of  Annerley  —  states- 
men, diplomatists,  soldiers  and  sailors.  They  married 
great  ladies,  every  one  of  them." 

"  There  is  no  woman  who  better  deserves  her  place 
among  them  than  Sybil  Cluley,"  he  answered. 

Her  eyes  flashed ;  her  lips  curled  a  little. 

"  Even  if  you  believed  that,"  she  retorted,  "  even  if 
you  could  so  far  forget  the  obligations  of  your  race 
as  to  put  a  little  comedy  actress  up  there  among  them, 
you  still  couldn't  place  a  woman  there  whose  hands  were 


200      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

red  with  the  blood  of  one  of  your  own  relations.  You 
couldn't  do  that,  Jermyn." 

He  gave  a  little  cry.  She  had  raised  her  voice.  He 
looked  around  the  room,  half  terrified. 

"  You  mustn't  talk  like  that !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  You 
can't  tell  —  some  one  might  have  come  in !  " 

She  shrugged  her  shoulders. 

"  My  dear  Jermyn,  the  very  intelligent  gentleman 
at  Scotland  Yard  who  is  now  worrying  over  the  Laken- 
ham  murder  case,  is  as  perfectly  convinced  in  his  own 
mind  of  the  real  culprit  as  you  and  I  are.  The  only 
trouble  is  that  he  has  no  proofs.  I  am  the  only  per- 
son who  can  be  of  any  use  to  him.  The  only  proofs 
that  exist  in  the  world  are  in  my  possession.  I  am  the 
only  person  who  could — " 

She  stopped  short.  Something  in  his  face  terrified 
her.  She  walked  to  the  window  and  returned. 

"  We  waste  time,"  she  remarked.  "  Now  will  you 
come  with  me,  Jermyn  ?  " 

"  I  am  due  at  the  theatre,"  he  told  her  coldly. 

"  I  will  drop  you  there,  then,"  she  replied.  "  At 
least  you  shall  leave  the  house  with  me  and  in  my  car. 
I  will  not  be  treated  as  though  I  did  not  exist." 

"  You  are  very  kind,"  he  said.  "  If  you  will  drop 
me  at  the  theatre,  I  will  accompany  you,  with  great 
pleasure." 

"  I  do  it,"  she  went  on,  as  they  took  their  places 
in  the  car  and  drove  off,  "  under  protest,  mind.  When 
one  makes  bargains  with  a  person  of  honor,  one  doesn't 
trouble  to  put  down  every  little  condition.  All  the 
same,  when  I  made  that  bargain  with  you,  at  the  back 
of  my  mind  there  was  always  the  conviction  that  if 
you  accepted  the  situation  at  all,  you  would  accept  it 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      201 

with  its  obligations  —  with  its  reasonable  obligations, 
that  is  to  say." 

"  I  recognize  no  obligations,"  he  declared.  "  I  have 
nothing  to  offer  that  was  not  in  the  bond." 

Her  eyes  flashed  at  him  threateningly. 

"  Are  you  the  only  one  to  talk  about  the  bond  ?  " 
she  demanded.  "  Why  shouldn't  I  back  out  a  little  if 
I  feel  inclined?  Do  you  think  that  I  want  only  the 
cold  shadow  of  your  name,  that  I  intend  to  be  neglected 
by  you  all  the  time?  Don't  try  me  too  far,  Jermyn. 
I  love  you  —  I  admit  that  —  I  love  you  and  I  can't 
love  anybody  else.  I  don't  know  why.  You're  a  cold, 
strange  sort  of  person.  People  call  you  clever  but 
bloodless;  they  never  forget  that  at  Oxford  you  were 
a  prig.  Still,  I  care,  but  you  know  there  are  limits, 
there  are  other  passions  in  the  world  beside  love.  Have 
you  never  heard  of  a  woman  who  found  revenge  almost 
as  beautiful?  Remember  I  am  half  a  Frenchwoman, 
and  in  my  country  the  passions  count  for  a  great  deal." 

He  weighed  her  words  as  she  spoke  them  and  in  his 
heart  he  believed  her.  He  knew  quite  well  that  she 
was  capable  of  anything. 

"  Let  me  tell  you  this,  Lucille,"  he  remarked  quietly. 
"  If  you  ever  did  place  Sybil's  life  in  danger,  do  you 
know  what  I  should  do?  I  should  give  myself  up. 
I  should  swear  that  it  was  I  who  had  killed  Aynes- 
worth." 

She  laughed  contemptuously. 

"  They  wouldn't  believe  you.  Besides,  I  should  be 
there  to  swear  you  didn't." 

"  I  think  I  can  promise  you,"  he  said,  "  that  I  should 
make  up  a  very  plausible  little  case." 

She  leaned  back  amongst  the  cushions. 


202      THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

"  Ah,  well,"  she  murmured,  "  we  won't  be  so  foolish, 
Jermyn.  We  won't  quarrel  any  more.  It  is  my  fault 
really.  Only  I  wish  you  would  believe  me  when  I  tell 
you  that  if  these  days  seem  a  little  hard  for  you,  the 
time  will  surely  come  when  you  won't  regret  them." 

"  All  my  life,"  he  declared  deliberately,  "  I  shall  re- 
gret the  dissipation  of  the  most  beautiful  dream  I  have 
ever  conceived,  the  shattering  of  the  most  beautiful 
hopes  I  could  ever  have  in  life.  These  I  shall  regret  al- 
ways, even  though  Lady  Annerley  is  the  most  admired 
woman  in  London  and  my  house  the  best  ordered." 

"  It  is  a  challenge,"  she  answered  gayly.  "  I  have 
had  enough  of  being  serious.  We  will  discuss  things 
no  more;  we  will  simply  wait.  .  .  .  What  dirty  streets 
seem  always  to  be  collected  around  the  backs  of  these 
theatres!  Jump  out,  Jermyn.  Go  and  train  your  lit- 
tle band  of  mummers  to  speak  their  words  and  play 
their  little  parts.  I'll  make  the  best  apologies  I  can 
for  you  at  Merchester  House.  Au  revoir!  Tell  the 
man  to  stop  first  at  Lucie's." 


CHAPTER  XXV 

Jermyn  found  the  little  company  upon  the  stage, 
awaiting  his  arrival.  He  shook  hands  with  Sybil  and 
there  was  the  light  of  a  new  understanding  in  the 
smile  and  glance  with  which  she  welcomed  him. 

"  So  the  little  lady  has  gone  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  She  has  gone,"  Sybil  replied.  "  She  went  off  quite 
comfortably  and  in  high  spirits.  One  of  the  govern- 
esses from  the  school  was  there  to  take  her  over." 

"  I  tried  so  hard  to  come  down  myself,"  Jermyn  ex- 
plained, "  but  it  was  really  a  busy  morning  with  me." 

"  I  think,  perhaps,  it  was  just  as  well,"  Sybil  as- 
sured him.  "  I  suppose  it  really  is  silly  to  feel  part- 
ing with  her  so  much  when  one  knows  it  is  for  her 
good,  but  I  don't  believe  we  have  ever  spent  a  night 
away  from  one  another  for  six  years." 

"  I  am  afraid  you  will  miss  her  very  much,"  he  re- 
marked. 

"  Yes,  I  shall  always  miss  her,"  Sybil  sighed.  "  Still, 
it  was  inevitable.  Living  in  a  tiny  flat,  with  so  few 
friends,  must  have  been  rather  a  poky  life  for  a  high- 
spirited  child  like  that.  One  could  see  the  change  they 
made,  even  those  few  days  at  Annerley." 

For  the  first  time  she  spoke  of  them  without  shrink- 
ing. She  seemed  to  carry  herself  with  a  new  courage. 
Jermyn  nodded  understandingly. 

"  There    will    always    be    the    holidays,"    he    said. 


204      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

"  Brussels  is  really  such  an  easy  journey.  If  she  can- 
not come  to  you,  you  will  be  able  to  run  over  to  her." 

The  producer  came  down  the  stage. 

"  Now,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  if  you  please." 

Jerniyn  made  his  way  into  the  front  row  of  the 
stalls  and  down  in  the  centre  of  the  shrouded  desert 
of  empty  seats.  Very  mechanically  that  afternoon  he 
watched  his  work  grow  into  shape,  criticizing  and  mak- 
ing a  few  suggestions  only  when  he  was  appealed  to 
by  the  producer  himself  or  one  of  the  company.  The 
play  for  him  was  Sybil,  the  stage  was  full  of  Sybil. 
When  she  was  absent,  he  lost  all  interest.  Once  he 
smiled  to  himself  with  genuine  amusement  as  he  real- 
ized how  wholly  uninspired  and  halting  his  lines  in 
places  were  when  Sybil  herself  was  not  on  the  stage. 
His  work  had  indeed  been  an  offering  to  her.  She  had 
been  his  inspiration  for  longer,  even,  than  he  had  im- 
agined. Was  it  to  end?  Wasn't  there  really  some 
middle  way?  Were  men  and  women  all  alike  in  the 
face  of  a  crisis  of  this  sort?  He  tried  to  think  of  a 
single  case  of  permanent  and  satisfactory  friendship 
between  a  man  and  a  woman  placed  as  he  and  Sybil 
were,  a  friendship  against  which  no  one  could  whisper, 
a  friendship  which  carried  with  it  the  justification  of  a 
real  and  convincing  sincerity.  He  remembered  hearing 
the  subject  once  discussed.  "If  the  man  is  capable, 
the  woman  isn't,"  the  club  cynic  had  remarked.  "  As 
a  rule,  everything  goes  on  all  right  until  the  psycho- 
logical moment  arrives.  It  may  be  the  man  who  pre- 
cipitates it  or  it  may  be  the  woman.  Flesh  and  blood 
haven't  learned  to  resist  it  yet." 

The  atmosphere  of  the  place  was  a  little  depressing. 
The  sordid  details  of  stagecraft  began,  in  time,  to  irri- 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      205 

tate  him.  It  was  with  a  sigh  of  relief  that  he  heard 
the  producer  shut  up  his  book  and  dismiss  the  com- 
pany with  his  accustomed  speech  of  farewell.  He  met 
Sybil  in  the  wings  and  carried  her  off  at  once. 

"  I  am  going  to  take  you  to  have  some  tea,"  he  de- 
clared. "  My  own  head  aches  even  with  sitting  listen- 
ing in  that  stuffy  theatre,  and  I  am  sure  you  must  be 
tired  out.  Afterwards,  I  shall  walk  part  of  the  way 
home  with  you." 

"  I  should  love  some  tea,"  she  confessed.  "  It's  all 
waiting  for  me  at  home  but  I  don't  think  I  shall  like  my 
first  meal  without  Mary  a  bit.  Anyhow,  I  would  like 
to  put  it  off  as  long  as  possible." 

They  crossed  the  Haymarket  and  entered  a  tea-shop. 
Jermyn  chose  a  quiet  table  and  gave  an  order. 

"  You  will  miss  her  always,  dear,"  he  said ;  "  yet,  on 
the  other  hand,  when  you  can  bring  yourself  to  think 
of  it,  it  must  be  a  joy  to  you  to  realize  what  you  are 
able  to  do  for  her." 

"  It  is  indeed,"  she  assented. 

"  Perhaps,  in  a  way,"  he  went  on  gently,  "  you  may 
feel  that  she  has  already  repaid  you  for  some  of  your 
care.  You  know,  Sybil,  they  say  that  the  sanest  of 
us  get  strange  moments  of  madness.  I  fancy  mine 
must  have  come  last  night.  I  don't  think  I  was  master 
of  myself.  I  don't  think  I  quite  knew  what  I  was  do- 
ing. I  seemed,  somehow,  to  be  possessed.  Anyhow, 
Mary  has  exorcised  that  spirit.  I  want  so  much  to 
see  you  to-day,  if  it  is  only  for  a  few  minutes,  because 
I  want  you  to  feel  that  whatever  happens,  under  any 
circumstances,  Mary  has  brought  me  into  the  family 
as  her  big  brother  and  you  will  have  to  let  me  play  the 
part." 


206      THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

She  turned  a  little  towards  him.  Underneath  the 
table  her  hand  touched  his  and  pressed  it. 

"  I  suppose,"  he  continued,  "  one  reason  why  we  are 
not  afraid  of  death  is  because  we  know  that  it  is  so 
utterly  and  entirely  inevitable.  It  is  not  death  or  some- 
thing else;  it  is  death  alone.  I  have  thought  over  our 
position  until  my  brain  reels  and  I  have  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  that,  too,  is  utterly  inevitable.  And 
so  I  am  trying  to  drive  that  into  my  mind,  to  make  use 
of  all  my  philosophy  and  absolutely  to  make  up  my 
mind  to  the  next  best  thing." 

"  Tell  me,"  she  asked,  "  does  she  —  does  the  Duchesse 
de  Sayers  speak  of  me?  " 

"  She  has  done  so,"  Jermyn  admitted.  "  She  knows 
the  truth,  of  course.  She  knows  that  I  care  for  you. 
I  have  told  her  very  plainly  indeed  that  while  life  lasts 
I  should  care  for  no  other  woman.  As  yet  she  doesn't 
believe  it,  but  in  her  way  she  is  a  reasonable  woman. 
She  makes  no  attempt  to  interfere,  at  any  rate,  with 
our  friendship.  She  had  better  not." 

Sybil  caught  at  his  hand  suddenly.  They  were  in 
a  dark  corner  of  the  room  and  there  were  few  people 
there.  Her  eyes  were  wet  with  tears. 

"  Jermyn,  dear  Jermyn,"  she  exclaimed,  with  a  lit- 
tle choke  in  her  voice,  "  I  am  afraid  of  the  loneliness 
of  it  all!  Life  seems  to  have  changed  so  lately.  Be 
my  friend  —  do  be  my  friend !  We  don't  want  to  think 
of  last  night  —  of  possible  mistakes.  That  won't  come 
again.  You  —  you  are  so  different.  I  am  so  lonely. 
You  know  the  men  we  meet.  I  don't  want  to  marry 
any  of  them.  I  just  want  to  be  let  live,  and  to  act  and 
to  think,  and  I  want  you  to  be  the  same  to  me  always. 
But  it's  lonely,  it's  horribly  lonely.  I  can't  even  make 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      207 

friends  with  the  women.  They  bring  men,  too,  and 
it's  always  the  same  thing.  If  you  were  to  go  away, 
if  you  were  to  leave  me  altogether,  I  don't  think  —  I 
don't  think  I  could  bear  it ! " 

He  held  her  hands  firmly. 

"  Dear  Sybil,"  he  whispered,  "  it's  a  bargain.  I  am 
your  friend  now  and  always,  your  privileged,  dear  com- 
panion and  friend.  You  can  trust  me." 

She  wiped  her  eyes  and  leaned  back  in  her  chair  with 
a  sigh  of  content.  Their  tea  was  set  before  them  and 
she  poured  it  out  silently. 

"  Jermyn,"  she  said  presently,  "  let  me  tell  you  this. 
I  feel  happy  to-day  for  the  first  time  since  —  since 
that  happened.  Life  seems  somehow  surer  and  safer 
again.  So  long  as  I  have  you,  the  you  whom  I  love, 
somewhere  in  the  background  to  trust,  why,  I  am  not 
so  frightened.  You  won't  go  away  for  too  long,  will 
you?  " 

"  I  will  not,"  he  promised.  "  Nothing  shall  keep  me 
away  from  England  for  more  than  a  few  weeks.  There 
are  plans  which  I  have  —  but  I  won't  talk  about  them 
just  now." 

"  I  do  hope  that  she  won't  mind,"  Sybil  went  on. 
"  Oh,  I  know  you  won't  give  me  up  altogether  but 
I'd  like  her  not  to  mind.  In  a  way  you  can't  be  happy 
and  satisfied  unless  you  and  she  get  on  well  together. 
I  don't  want  to  come  between." 

"  It's   her  own   risk,"   Jermyn   declared.     "  I   can't 

think  myself  how  a  marriage  made  like  ours  could  ever 

be  a  successful  one.     I  know  it  can  never  be  successful. 

Still,  I  shall  do  my  best  now,  I  shall  do  my  best  always 

—  up  to  a  certain  point." 

She  looked  at  him  inquiringly.     For  a  few  moments 


208      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

he  said  nothing,  watching  the  people  pass  in  and  out 
of  the  place.  Then  he  turned  once  more  to  his  com- 
panion. 

"  Sybil,"  he  said ;  "  Sybil,  there  will  always  be  this 
in  my  heart.  Lucille  is  to  be  my  wife  and  I  shall  give 
her  exactly  what  the  law  demands,  but  between  you 
and  me  there  is  something  else.  There  is  the  love  which 
must  have  in  it  always  a  spark  of  divinity,  because  for 
both  of  us  it  is  leavened  with  self-sacrifice.  That  is 
how  it  will  always  be  to  me.  Now  we  have  finished  with 
serious  subjects.  You  must  decide  for  yourself  whether 
it  shall  be  more  muffins  or  some  of  those  little  cakes ; 
or  we  can  talk  over  what  we  are  going  to  give  Mary 
for  a  Christmas  present;  or  shall  we  discuss  exactly 
how  you  are  going  to  say  those  few  lines  at  the  end  of 
the  second  act,  which  Jameson  and  I  can't  agree 
about?" 

She  lifted  her  veil  —  there  was  no  need  to  keep  it 
down  any  longer. 

"  One  at  a  time,  please,"  she  laughed.  "  To  begin 
with,  then,  I  want  another  muffin." 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

In  Bond  Street  the  next  morning  Jermyn  met  Mr. 
Norden  Smith.  Mr.  Norden  Smith  was  attired  in  the 
height  of  fashion,  with  a  large  bunch  of  violets  in  his 
buttonhole.  He  looked  with  some  surprise  at  Jermyn's 
blue  serge  suit  and  bowler  hat.  The  two  men  shook 
hands  and  talked  for  a  few  minutes  on  casual  sub- 
jects. 

"  Say,  there's  one  thing  that  licks  me  about  this 
country,"  Mr.  Norden  Smith  remarked,  "  and  that  is 
the  different  sorts  of  advice  every  one  gives  you.  I 
haven't  been  over  on  this  side  very  much,  as  you  know 
—  in  fact  this  is  really  my  first  trip  that  amounts  to 
anything  —  and  before  I  came  they  all  told  me  that 
whatever  I  did,  when  I  showed  myself  in  the  west-end 
of  London  I  mustn't  go  about  as  we  do  in  New  York, 
but  I  must  wear  a  silk  hat  and  proper  morning  clothes. 
Yet  here  I  am,  doing  as  I  was  told,  and  there  are  you, 
a  young  Londoner  who  ought  to  know  all  about  it,  as 
comfortable  as  possible  in  a  blue  serge  suit,  a  pot  hat, 
a  spotted  blue  tie  and  a  colored  collar." 

Jermyn  laughed. 

"  You  must  remember,"  he  pointed  out,  "  that  I  am 
half  a  Bohemian.  I  really  have  very  little  to  do  with 
the  fashionable  world.  You  mustn't  go  by  me,  any- 
way. As  a  rule,  I  think  we  dress  according  to  the 
things  we  have  to  do.  I  have  had  to  write  for  a  couple 


210      THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

of  hours  this  morning,  then  I  am  going  to  lunch  alone 
at  my  club,  and  in  the  afternoon  I  shall  be  at  the 
theatre,  rehearsing  a  play.  If  I  were  going  to  pay 
calls  upon  friends,  as  no  doubt  you  are,  why,  I  dare- 
say I  should  have  been  wearing  town  clothes,  too. 
How  long  are  you  up  for?  " 

"  Well,  I'm  not  altogether  sure,"  Mr.  Norden  Smith 
replied.  "  Anyway,  when  I've  finished  with  London 
I  shall  be  getting  home  again  before  very  long.  I  have 
had  a  very  pleasant  tour  over  here  and  I  have  got 
through  half  of  the  business  that  brought  me,  most 
satisfactorily.  By  the  by,"  he  added,  "  you  don't  hap- 
pen to  know  anything  of  a  fellow-countryman  of  mine, 
A  Mr.  Chalmers  —  Aaron  Chalmers  they  call  him  ? 
He  is  better  known  over  on  this  side,  I  think,  than 
with  us.  He  has  spent  the  last  fifteen  years  of  his 
life  in  Europe,  with  only  an  occasional  visit  to  New 
York.  Chap  not  much  older  than  you  are,  I  should 
say." 

"  I  know  him  quite  well,"  Jermyn  admitted,  "  or 
rather,  perhaps  I  should  say  I  know  of  him  quite  well. 
He  has  a  large  estate  down  in  Hertfordshire.  He  is 
a  member,  too,  of  the  club  at  which  I  am  just  going 
to  lunch." 

"  You  don't  say  so ! "  Mr.  Norden  Smith  exclaimed, 
with  interest.  "  Now  I  wonder  whether  you  could  put 
me  in  the  way  of  finding  him?  " 

Jermyn  glanced  at  his  watch. 

"  If  he  is  in  town  at  all,"  he  said,  "  he  will  prob- 
ably be  at  the  club.  Come  along  and  have  luncheon 
with  me.  If  he  isn't  there,  I  can  find  out  from  some 
one  where  he  is.  He  has  a  very  large  circle  of  friends. 
He  goes  down  to  the  Riviera  every  season,  I  believe, 


THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN      211 

but  it's  too  early  for  him  to  have  made  a  move  yet. 
Very  good  time,  I  should  think,  to  catch  him  in  town." 

"  Well,  that's  really  very  kind  of  you,"  Mr.  Norden 
Smith  declared.  "  If  it's  wholly  agreeable  to  you,  I 
should  be  delighted.  I  have  nothing  to  do  with  my- 
self just  at  present.  I  have  bought  a  few  books  and 
curios ;  I  have  finished  up  my  little  cathedral  tour,  and, 
as  I  said  just  now,  I've  got  through  half  the  business 
that  really  brought  me  over.  A  week  or  two  more  and 
I  think  that  I  shall  make  tracks  for  home." 

"  It's  a  quarter  to  one  now,"  Jermyn  remarked.  "  I 
have  been  working  all  the  morning  and  I  am  really  out 
for  a  little  exercise.  If  you're  in  no  particular  hurry, 
we  might  walk  to  the  top  of  Bond  Street  and  back 
again.  I  want  to  call  at  my  shirt-maker's,  and  I  sup- 
pose I  am  Englishman  enough  to  love  walking  in  this 
particular  street." 

"  I  am  with  you  all  the  time,"  Mr.  Norden  Smith 
answered  with  alacrity,  as  they  strolled  off.  "  It's  a 
commonplace,  poky-looking  little  thoroughfare  to  any 
one  that's  been  used  to  Fifth  Avenue,  but  I  am  not 
going  to  say  that  it  hasn't  points.  The  women,  /or 
instance.  Finest  women  in  the  world.  Never  saw  any- 
thing like  them.  Such  complexions !  Gee !  Here's  a 
lovely  woman  coming  now!  What  a  carriage!  What 
a  figure ! " 

Jermyn  smiled  faintly. 

"  You  ought  to  recognize  her,"  he  said.  "  That  is 
the  Duchesse  de  Sayers,  to  whom,  by  the  by,  I  am  en- 
gaged to  be  married." 

"  Now  that's  interesting,"  Mr.  Norden  Smith  de- 
clared. "  But  I  thought  —  I  understood  —  I  had  an 
idea—" 


212      THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN 

They  were  face  to  face  with  Lucille  now.  She  was 
dressed,  as  usual,  in  perfect  taste,  a  very  distinguished 
and  distinctive  figure.  Some  change  seemed  to  have 
come  over  her  during  the  last  few  steps.  The  brilliant 
smile  with  which  she  had  welcomed  them  had  passed 
from  her  face.  She  was  looking  steadily  at  Mr. 
Norden  Smith. 

"  Let  me  assure  you,"  Jermyn  said,  as  they  paused, 
"  that  Mr.  Norden  Smith  isn't  a  nightmare.  You  look 
at  him  as  though  he  might  have  come  from  the  land  of 
shadows.  Seriously,  you  remember  him,  don't  you, 
Lucille?  Mr.  Smith  paid  us  one  rather  unfortunately 
timed  visit  to  Annerley." 

Lucille  had  recovered  herself  to  some  extent,  and 
held  out  her  fingers. 

"  Of  course  I  remember  Mr.  Norden  Smith,"  she  as- 
sented. "  Just  for  the  moment,  when  I  saw  him  with 
you,  Jermyn,  I  am  afraid  I  could  only  remember  that 
he  was  associated  in  my  mind  with  something  very  ter- 
rible. It  was  such  an  unexpected  meeting,  you  see. 
I  quite  thought  that  you  had  gone  back  to  the  United 
States." 

"  I  shall  always  regret,  Duchess,"  the  American  re- 
plied, "  that  I  shall  have  no  opportunity  to  efface  from 
your  mind  that  unfortunate  impression.  It  was  an  ill- 
timed  visit  of  mine,  beyond  a  doubt,  but  in  its  way, 
if  I  may  be  allowed  to  say  so,  it  was  as  great  a  shock 
for  me  as  for  any  of  you." 

"  You  must  give  us  an  opportunity,"  Jermyn  de- 
clared, "  of  seeing  something  more  of  you  next  time 
you  are  over.  We  should  both  be  delighted." 

"  I  am  sure  that's  very  kind  of  you,"  Mr.  Norden 
Smith  answered.  "  In  the  meantime,  I  expect  to  be 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      213 

on  this  side  a  week  or  so  longer,  at  any  rate,  and  it 
would  give  me  a  great  deal  of  pleasure  if  you  and  the 
Duchess  would  do  me  the  honor  of  dining  with  me  at 
my  hotel,  the  Milan,  any  evening  to  suit  your- 
selves." 

"  You  are  very  kind,"  Lucille  said.  "  I  am  afraid, 
for  the  present,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned  it  would  be 
quite  impossible.  Jermyn  knows  how  full  of  engage- 
ments I  am  at  this  time  of  the  year.  Where  are  you 
going  to  now,  Jermyn?  " 

"  Up  to  my  shirt-maker's,"  Jermyn  replied.  "  Af- 
terwards, we  are  going  to  lunch  at  the  club." 

For  some  reason  or  other,  Lucille  seemed  scarcely 
pleased. 

"  I  was  just  wondering,"  she  remarked,  "  when  I 
saw  you  coming,  whether  I  shouldn't  be  able  to  get 
an  invitation  to  the  Ritz.  I  am  not  lunching  any- 
where to-day." 

Jermyn  shook  his  head. 

"  We  want  to  see  a  friend  of  Norden  Smith's,"  he 
explained, —  "  Chalmers.  You  know  Aaron  Chalmers, 
don't  you?  " 

"  Of  course  I  do,"  Lucille  admitted.  "  Is  he  in 
town?  " 

"  We  aren't  sure,"  Jermyn  told  her.  "  If  he  is, 
we  shall  probably  find  him  at  the  club.  That  is  why 
I  asked  Mr.  Norden  Smith  to  lunch  with  me." 

"  In  that  case,"  Lucille  said  slowly,  "  I  must  not 
interfere,  of  course.  We  shall  meet  this  evening,  then, 
Jermyn." 

She  nodded  to  Mr.  Norden  Smith  and  passed  on. 
Before  she  had  gone  a  yard,  however,  she  turned  and 
called  after  them. 


214      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

"  Jermyn !  " 

Jermyn  stepped  back.  Mr.  Norden  Smith  re- 
mained on  the  edge  of  the  pavement. 

"  What  are  you  doing  with  that  man  ? "  she  de- 
manded quickly.  "  Why  on  earth  did  you  speak  to 
him  at  all?  A  most  impossible  person!  Why  should 
you  take  him  to  your  club?  " 

"  I  do  not  find  him  an  impossible  person  at  all," 
Jermyn  replied  calmly.  "  He  happened  to  present 
himself  at  Annerley  at  a  very  unfortunate  time,  but 
so  far  as  he  was  concerned,  he  behaved  most  consider- 
ately. I  find  no  fault  with  him.  My  invitation  was 
only  a  matter  of  ordinary  courtesy,  such  as  I  think 
we  ought  to  extend  to  traveling  Americans  when  we 
have  an  opportunity." 

"  It  seems  to  me  entirely  unnecessary,"  she  de- 
clared, in  an  undertone.  "  I  dislike  Mr.  Norden  Smith 
extremely.  He  belongs  to  that  very  ordinary  type  of 
person  whom  I  am  surprised  that  you  should  encour- 
age." 

Jermyn  smiled. 

"  Well,"  he  said,  "  I  must  try  and  preserve  myself 
from  any  contamination,  I  suppose,  but  so  far  as  the 
immediate  present  is  concerned,  my  luncheon  invitation 
has  been  given  and  accepted.  I  will,  of  course,  be 
careful  to  make  no  arrangements  for  dining  with  him. 
Nothing  else  I  can  do  for  you?  " 

"  Nothing,"  she  answered,  after  a  moment's  hesita- 
tion. "  If  I  were  you,  I  shouldn't  treat  that  man  with 
too  much  confidence.  I  don't  know  what  there  is  about 
him  but  he  makes  me  shiver.  Ah,  here  comes  that 
stupid  Lady  Chalcote ;  I  suppose  I  shall  have  to  talk 
to  her." 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      215 

Jermyn  rejoined  his  companion,  who  was  waiting 
upon  the  curb. 

"  Say,  I  must  congratulate  you,  Sir  Jermyn,"  Mr. 
Norden  Smith  said  heartily.  "  I  am  afraid  I  got  sort 
of  mixed  up  over  this.  I  had  an  idea  when  I  was  down 
in  your  county  that  you  were  engaged  to  that  charm- 
ing little  fair-haired  lady,  Miss  Sybil  Cluley." 

Jermyn  made  no  reply  for  a  moment.  Glancing  into 
his  face,  Mr.  Norden  Smith  suddenly  realized  that  he 
had  blundered.  He  vigorously  launched  into  another 
subject. 

"  My  mistake,  no  doubt.  People  gossip  so  in  those 
small  places.  Now,"  he  added,  "  I  wonder  if  you 
could  recommend  me,  Sir  Jermyn,  to  a  really  good 
shirt-maker.  You  know  what  happens  to  us  over  in 
America  if  we  buy  dress  shirts.  I  suppose  it's  our  own 
fault.  We  don't  take  the  trouble  about  clothes  that  we 
ought.  You  wouldn't  care,  I  suppose,  to  — " 

"  You  shall  come  in  with  me  now,"  Jermyn  sug- 
gested. "  I  think  my  people  are  as  good  as  any. 
They  will  probably  look  after  you  all  right." 

"  You're  exactly  the  man  I  was  looking  for,"  Mr. 
Norden  Smith  declared. 

They  made  some  purchases  together  and  reached 
Jermyn's  club  at  about  twenty  minutes  past  one. 
When  they  were  about  half-way  through  a  very  ex- 
cellent luncheon,  Jermyn  stopped  a  friend  who  was 
passing  their  table. 

"  Sidney,"  he  said,  "  vou  know  every  one.  Tell  me, 
where  is  Chalmers?  " 

"  Left  for  America  this  week,"  his  friend  replied, 
"  on  the  Lusitania,  I  think." 

Mr.  Norden  Smith  was  a  quiet  man,  of  quiet  man- 


2i6      THE    WAY   OF    THESE    WOMEN 

ners  and  impassive  countenance.  Nevertheless,  he 
spilt  a  little  wine  from  the  glass  which  he  had  been  in 
the  act  of  conveying  to  his  lips.  He  leaned  forward 
across  the  table.  His  eyes  seemed  to  have  sunk  deeper 
into  his  head  and  his  voice  was  scarcely  pitched  in  its 
natural  key. 

"  Gone  to  America  —  Aaron  Chalmers  ?  " 

"  That's  so,"  Jermyn's  friend  assented  lightly. 
"  He  was  in  here  the  other  afternoon,  I  remember, 
when  he  received  a  cable.  He  threw  it  into  the  fire 
and  laughed.  Nothing  very  serious,  I  think.  I  im- 
agined it  was  an  invitation,  or  something  of  the  sort. 
Anyway,  off  he  went.  He'll  be  back  next  month.  I 
suppose  I  shall  have  to  come  and  see  you  made  into  a 
respectable  member  of  Society,  Jermyn,  old  fellow," 
he  went  on.  "  You  gave  us  quite  a  surprise." 

"  I  shall  be  glad  of  your  support,"  Jermyn  an- 
swered. 

His  friend  passed  on.  Mr.  Norden  Smith  finished 
his  luncheon  in  more  silent  mood.  Directly  they  had 
reached  the  hall,  he  held  out  his  hand. 

"  Sir  Jermyn,"  he  began,  "  I  am  exceedingly  in- 
debted to  you  for  your  hospitality.  There  is  nothing 
I  can  do  in  return  except  to  assure  you  that  whenever 
you  find  yourself  on  my  side  of  the  water,  well,  I  am 
your  debtor.  But  there  is  just  one  thing  I  should 
like  to  remark.  I  don't  want  to  allude  to  a  painful 
subject  at  unnecessary  length  and  I  haven't  spoken 
about  it  to-day  because  I  guess  you  must  be  pretty  well 
sick  of  it,  but  that  was  a  terrible  affair  that  happened 
down  at  your  place  when  I  was  there  —  a  terrible  af- 
fair." 

Jermyn  sighed. 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      217 

"  Mr.  Smith,"  he  said,  "  you  are  right.  I  don't 
think  we  shall  any  of  us  get  over  the  shock  for  some 
time." 

"  I  wanted  just  to  say  this,"  Mr.  Smith  continued, 
emphatically.  "  I  don't  suppose  it's  likely  that  any- 
thing disagreeable  to  you  could  ever  arise  from  it,  but 
if  things  turned  out  that  way,  if  things  got  somehow 
so  that  you  needed  help  or  advice,  why,  I  want  you  to 
remember  that  I  am  a  criminal  lawyer  of  some  repute 
on  the  other  side,  that  I  was  on  the  spot,  and  that  if 
I  were  forced  to  collect  them,  I've  a  few  ideas  of  my 
own  upon  that  night's  work.  Will  you  just  send  me 
a  cable,  Sir  Jermyn,  if  anything  goes  wrong?  Norden 
Smith,  Manhattan  Club,  New  York  —  that's  all  you'll 
need." 

"  I  most  certainly  will,"  Jermyn  promised  him.  "  I 
tell  you  what  I'd  very  much  prefer,  though,  and  that 
is  that  you  came  into  the  smoking-room  with  me  now, 
and  over  that  cigar  and  some  very  excellent  brandy 
which  I  could  find  for  you,  told  me  just  what  those 
ideas  of  yours  were." 

Mr.  Norden  Smith  shook  his  head. 

"No,"  he  said,  "that  wouldn't  quite  fit  in.  I'd 
rather  not  butt  in  on  this  affair  at  all,  if  I  can  help  it. 
You  see,"  he  went  on  slowly,  "  justice,  as  the  law  of 
your  country  understands  it,  and  the  real  Justice  hold- 
ing the  scales  between  two  human  beings,  isn't  always 
quite  the  same  thing.  I  guess  I'll  have  nothing  to 
say,  unless,  as  I  suggested  just  now,  matters  don't  go 
altogether  right.  Here's  to  you,  Sir  Jermyn,  and  the 
best  of  luck !  " 

Jermyn  walked  with  his  guest  to  the  steps  and  stood 
there  while  he  departed.  Mr.  Norden  Smith  made  no 


2i8      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

further  suggestion  with  reference  to  the  proposed  din- 
ner-party.    He  stepped  into  a  taxicab. 

"  The  Cunard  Steamship  Company  in  Cockspur 
Street,"  he  told  the  man.  "  Say,  get  along  as  quick 
as  you  can.  I  want  to  get  there." 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

Jermyn  found  an  unexpected  visitor  awaiting  him 
when  he  returned  to  his  rooms  a  little  later  on  that  af- 
ternoon. A  young  man  in  deep  mourning  rose  from 
the  depths  of  his  easy-chair.  For  a  moment  Jermyn 
was  puzzled. 

"  Come,  have  I  grown  as  much  as  that?  "  the  visitor 
laughed.  "  I  am  Gerald  Lakenham,  you  know." 

"  Why,  of  course,"  Jermyn  replied.  "  I  ought  to 
have  known  you  anywhere.  You  aren't  a  bit  like  poor 
Aynesworth,  though.  I  thought  you  were  on  your  way 
round  the  world." 

"  So  I  was,"  the  young  man  answered.  "  I  got  this 
news  at  Rio  and  I  came  straight  along  back." 

Jermyn  nodded  sympathetically. 

"  Of  course.  Must  have  been  rather  a  knock  for 
you." 

"  It  was  indeed,"  the  young  man  admitted.  "  I  can 
scarcely  realize  it,  even  now.  Poor  old  Aynesworth! 
He  wasn't  half  such  a  bad  fellow,  you  know." 

Jermyn  was  silent.  There  was  no  person  in  the 
world  whom  he  wished  less  to  discuss. 

"  I  came  along  to  see  you,"  the  new  Marquis  of 
Lakenham  continued,  "  because  I  can't  help  feeling 
that  it's  all  rather  rot  about  old  Aynesworth  getting 
it  in  the  neck  like  that  and  no  one  punished  for  it. 
Looks  sort  of  slack,  doesn't  it?  " 


220      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

"  I  understand  that  the  police  have  been  making 
every  effort,"  Jermyn  remarked. 

"  Then  I  should  say  it  was  jolly  well  time  they  were 
helped,"  the  young  man  declared.  w  It  doesn't  seem  as 
though  there  could  be  a  simpler  case.  Everybody  and 
everything  was  there  ready  to  their  hands.  I  have  just 
come  from  Scotland  Yard  at  this  moment,  and  if  you 
ask  me,  I  don't  believe  they  have  the  slightest  idea  in 
their  heads  as  to  who  did  this  thing." 

"  I  don't  think  that  any  one  has,"  Jermyn  replied. 

"  I  am  not  quite  so  sure  of  that,"  Gerald  Lakenham 
dissented.  "  At  any  rate,  it  makes  one  feel  rather  fed 
up  with  the  English  detective  system.  I  have  made 
up  my  mind,  anyhow,  to  see  what  I  can  do  towards 
clearing  the  affair  up.  Aynesworth  was  my  brother, 
after  all,  and  as  head  of  the  house  now  I  suppose  it's 
up  to  me  to  do  something." 

"  What  steps  do  you  propose  to  take  ?  "  Jermyn 
inquired. 

"  I  have  engaged  an  awfully  clever  private  detective," 
the  young  man  went  on.  "  I  want  you,  if  you  will,  to 
be  so  good  as  to  give  him  a  clear  run  down  at  Annerley, 
and  to  let  him  interview  you  about  the  affair  before 
he  goes  down." 

Jermyn  was  silent  for  some  little  time. 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  you  have  actually  en- 
gaged this  fellow?  "  he  asked. 

"  I  have  engaged  him  all  right,"  Gerald  Lakenham 
answered.  "  He's  guaranteed  me  an  arrest  within 
thirty  days,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  he  knows  his  busi- 
ness." 

"  Did  you  consult  any  one  before  you  took  this 
step?" 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      221 

"  Not  a  soul.  There  isn't  any  one  really,  you  see, 
except  you.  In  fact,  you're  the  first  person  I've  talked 
it  over  with.  Of  course,  the  mater  doesn't  count. 
Women  don't  understand  a  matter  of  this  sort." 

"  I  have  no  confidence,"  Jermyn  said  quietly,  "  in 
private  detectives." 

"  This  fellow  Grayson  is  awfully  clever,"  his  visitor 
assured  him.  "  It  was  he  who  found  out  all  about 
the  Midland  Bank  robberies,  and  he  has  a  little  memo- 
randum of  all  the  best  known  thieves  in  Europe,  com- 
piled by  himself.  The  police  make  use  of  him  often, 
although,  of  course,  they  always  take  the  credit.  Jolly 
interesting  fellow,  too,  to  talk  to." 

"  No  doubt,"  Jermyn  admitted,  "  and  yet,  I  am 
afraid  I  shall  have  to  say  that  I  disapprove  altogether 
of  his  employment  in  this  case.  I  think  the  Scotland 
Yard  people  are  doing  everything  that  can  be  done, 
and  any  outside  interference  is  only  likely  to  make  the 
matter  more  difficult  for  them." 

"  Up  to  the  present,"  Gerald  Lakenham  remarked 
dryly,  "  everything  that  can  be  done  means  that  noth- 
ing has  been  done  at  all.  You  know,  I  don't  pretend  to 
be  overburdened  with  sentiment,  and  that  sort  of  thing, 
but  Aynesworth  was  my  brother,  and  head  of  the 
family,  and  I  don't  feel  like  sitting  still  and  leaving  the 
mystery  of  his  death  unsolved." 

"  Perhaps,"  Jermyn  replied  thoughtfully,  "  if  he 
were  alive  that  is  precisely  what  he  would  wish  us  to 
do." 

The  young  man  was  impressed. 

"  I  wonder,"  he  said,  "  if  you  really  believe  that?  " 

"  On  the  whole,"  Jermyn  assured  him,  "  I  do. 
Aynesworth  could  have  made  a  statement,  if  he  had 


222      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

chosen  to,  before  he  died.  He  had  several  minutes 
of  complete  consciousness." 

Gerald  sat  for  a  few  moments  with  a  frown  upon  his 
forehead.  This  was  distinctly  a  disconcerting  point 
of  view  and  one  which  had  not  previously  occurred  to 
him. 

"  Have  you  any  idea,"  he  asked  slowly,  "  whether 
there  is  any  truth  in  the  rumor  that  Sybil  Cluley  and 
Aynesworth  had  met  before  that  time  at  your  house?  " 

"  No  truth  at  all,"  Jermyn  answered,  decidedly. 
"  Miss  Cluley  is  a  very  charming  and  delightful  young 
lady  and  she  has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  this 
terrible  business.  If  the  detective  of  whom  you  speak 
is  going  to  cause  her  the  least  annoyance,  I  tell  you 
frankly,  Gerald,  that  I  shall  take  steps  to  protect  her." 

"  The  fellow  only  wants  to  find  out  the  truth," 
Gerald  protested.  "  I  don't  suppose  Miss  Cluley  ob- 
jects to  that.  It's  as  much  in  her  interests  as  any 
one's." 

"  I  don't  suppose  any  one  whom  we  are  likely  to 
be  interested  in  would  not  be  immensely  relieved," 
Jermyn  said,  "  if  only  the  truth  could  be  discovered. 
At  the  same  time,  these  fellows  often  do  a  lot  of  mis- 
chief going  into  matters  which  don't  concern  the  case 
at  all.  I  must  admit  that  I  have  a  strong  prejudice 
against  them.  The  Scotland  Yard  people  may  do  their 
work  slowly,  but  as  a  rule,  if  there's  anything  to  be 
found  out,  they  discover  it  in  time." 

"  I'm  sorry  you  don't  approve,"  Gerald  remarked, 
helping  himself  to  one  of  the  cigarettes  which  Jermyn 
had  produced,  "  but  I've  turned  Grayson  loose  on  the 
job  now,  so  I  suppose  he'll  have  to  get  along  a  bit. 
Shall  you  mind  his  asking  you  a  few  questions  ?  " 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      223 

"  It  depends  very  much  upon  what  those  questions 
are,"  Jermyn  replied.  "  As  I  said  before,  I  am  not 
favorably  disposed  towards  his  class,  nor  am  I  in  favor 
of  his  being  employed  in  the  present  case." 

"  Well,  he's  outside  in  my  car,"  Gerald  said.  "  Per- 
haps you'd  let  him  come  in  now  and  you  can  look  him 
over.  I  want  you,  if  you  will,  too,  to  give  him  a  let- 
ter of  introduction  to  Miss  Cluley." 

"  I'll  see  him  myself,"  Jermyn  agreed.  "  I  tell  you 
frankly,  Gerald,  though,  that  I  can't  promise  I'll  do 
anything  to  help  him  interview  Miss  Cluley.  She  was 
my  guest  at  the  time  that  wretched  affair  happened;  it 
was  my  fault  entirely  that  she  was  brought  into  it,  and 
she  has  already  been  bothered  quite  enough  about 
it." 

"  I'll  fetch  the  fellow  in,  anyway,"  Gerald  decided. 
"  You'll  perhaps  think  more  of  him  if  you  talk  to  him 
for  a  bit." 

Grayson  turned  out  to  be  a  very  inoffensive-looking 
person,  scarcely  older  than  Jermyn  himself.  He  was 
quietly  dressed,  and  his  face  was  quite  unnoticeable  ex- 
cept for  the  occasional  brilliancy  of  his  deep-set  gray 
eyes.  He  looked  like  a  man  of  the  middle  classes  — 
a  traveler,  perhaps,  for  a  jewelry  firm  —  neatly  dressed, 
stolid,  not  in  the  least  self-assertive,  yet  with  sufficient 
self-assurance.  Jermyn  received  him  a  little  curtly 
and  motioned  him  to  a  chair. 

"  Lord  Lakenham  has  been  telling  me  that  he  has 
engaged  you  to  make  some  inquiries  with  reference  to 
the  murder  of  the  late  Marquis,"  Jermyn  said.  "  I 
should  like  you  to  understand  at  once  that  I  am  strongly 
averse  to  the  step  which  he  has  taken." 

"  I  am  sorry  to  hear  that,  sir,"  Grayson  declared, 


224      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

"  very  sorry  indeed.  Might  I  ask  if  the  reasons  are 
in  any  way  personal  ?  " 

"  Not  at  all,"  Jermyn  admitted.  "  I  never  heard 
of  you  before.  I  simply  have  a  prejudice  against 
your  profession.  I  believe  in  these  cases  being  dealt 
with  by  the  recognized  authorities,  and  I  think  that  if 
they  are  left  to  themselves  they  are  generally  success- 
ful." 

"  They  don't  seem  to  have  got  very  far  with  the  pres- 
ent matter,  sir." 

"  They  have  a  way  of  taking  their  time,"  Jermyn 
asserted.  "  I  think  they  are  quite  right.  To  arrest  a 
man  prematurely  is  the  worst  mistake  that  can  be  made. 
I  have  heard  of  cases  in  which  they  watch  the  person 
whom  they  have  known  perfectly  well  to  be  guilty  of 
a  crime,  for  months  before  they  have  arrested  him,  wait- 
ing for  the  last  link  of  evidence.  I  have  heard,  too, 
of  amateurs  who  rush  in,  put  people  upon  their  guard, 
and  generally  make  a  hash  of  things." 

"  There  is  a  great  deal  of  sound  common  sense  in 
your  point  of  view,  Sir  Jermyn,"  Grayson  admitted. 
"  I  am  aware  that  my  profession  is  an  unpopular  one 
and  that  there  are  many  people  who  consider  that  we 
should  be  abolished.  If  Lord  Lakenham  is  inclined  to 
take  your  advice,  I  shall  not  stand  in  the  way  for  a 
moment.  I  shall  only  require  the  small  sum  I  have 
spent  for  out-pockets,  and  I  will  willingly  drop  the 
matter." 

Gerald  shook  his  head  doubtfully. 

"  I  don't  think  that  I  am  quite  inclined  to  consent 
to  that,"  he  decided.  "  What  Sir  Jermyn  says  may  be 
all  right,  but  I  can  call  to  mind  several  cases  lately  of 
serious  crimes  where  no  arrest  whatever  has  been  made. 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      225 

So  long  as  you  go  carefully,  I  don't  see  the  least  rea- 
son why  you  shouldn't  have  a  try  at  this." 

"  I  take  it,  then,"  Grayson  inquired,  "  that  your 
lordship  is  not  at  present  disposed  to  rescind  your  in- 
structions to  me  ?  " 

"  I  am  not,"  Gerald  declared. 

"  In  that  case,"  Grayson  proceeded  briskly,  "  as  I 
am  here,  will  Sir  Jermyn  mind  answering  a  few  ques- 
tions?" 

"  I  don't  know  that  I  have  any  particular  objection," 
Jermyn  replied  slowly,  "  at  any  rate  so  far  as  they  con- 
cern myself  and  my  own  doings." 

"  There  are  so  few  people  who  could  have  com- 
mitted this  crime,"  Grayson  said,  "  that  one  is  rather 
inclined  to  take  the  possible  persons,  one  by  one,  and 
analyze  their  relations  with  the  deceased.  I  have  acted 
to  some  small  extent  upon  this." 

"  Indeed !  "  Jermyn  remarked,  dryly. 

"  I  have  carefully  considered,  for  instance,"  Gray- 
son  told  him,  "  your  own  relations  with  the  late  Mar- 
quis of  Lakenham,  and  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion, 
Sir  Jermyn,  that  there  was  not,  nor  could  there  have 
been  at  any  time,  anything  connected  with  them  which 
might  have  caused  bad  blood  between  you  two.  I  have 
put  you,  therefore,  outside  the  case." 

"  You  relieve  me  immensely,"  Jermyn  assured  him, 
satirically. 

"  I  am  not  able,"  Grayson  continued,  unmoved,  "  to 
dismiss  Miss  Sybil  Cluley  from  the  case  with  the  same 
facility." 

Jermyn  was  suddenly  quiet.  The  fingers  of  his 
right  hand  trembled  a  little  and  there  was  a  dangerous 
light  in  his  eyes. 


226      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

"  In  the  course  of  my  investigations,"  Grayson  went 
on,  "  I  have  discovered  that  the  late  Marquis  of  Laken- 
ham  and  Miss  Sybil  Cluley,  who  met  at  your  house  as 
strangers,  were  in  reality  nothing  of  the  sort." 

"  What  the  devil  do  you  mean?  "  Jermyn  demanded. 

"  Precisely  what  I  say,  sir,"  Grayson  answered 
firmly.  "  Miss  Sybil  Cluley  six  years  ago  was  acting 
in  a  stock  company  at  Blackpool  under  the  name  of 
Miss  May  Marvis.  The  late  Marquis  was  in  Black- 
pool at  the  time,  was  friendly  with  the  manager  of 
that  company,  and  was,  without  the  shadow  of  a  doubt, 
not  only  acquainted  with  but  an  admirer  of  Miss 
Cluley." 

"  Most  interesting ! "  Jermyn  murmured,  in  a  voice 
dangerously  low.  "  And  from  that  you  deduce?  " 

"  At  present  I  have  deduced  nothing,"  Grayson  re- 
plied calmly.  "  At  the  same  time,  no  one  seems  to 
have  stumbled  upon  this  fact  before,  and  to  my  mind  it 
throws  an  altogether  new  light  upon  the  situation. 
Miss  Cluley,  at  the  time  she  knew  the  Marquis,  was  in 
exceedingly  poor  circumstances.  The  company  with 
which  she  was  connected  came  to  grief  at  Blackpool,  and 
she  was  left  with  the  charge  of  her  invalid  sister.  There 
is  not  the  slightest  doubt  that  his  lordship  at  that  time 
was  an  ardent  admirer  of  Miss  Cluley.  Those  are 
simple,  incontrovertible  facts.  This  unexpected  meet- 
ing under  your  roof,  Sir  Jermyn,  might  well  have 
proved  embarrassing  for  the  young  lady." 

"  As  a  matter  of  fact,"  Jermyn  declared,  "  it  was 
nothing  of  the  sort.  This  I  can  answer  for,  for  I  was 
in  Miss  Cluley's  confidence.  The  acquaintance  at 
Blackpool  of  which  you  have  spoken,  is  a  matter  of 
common  knowledge  to  those  who  were  there  at  the  time, 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      227 

but  let  me  tell  you  this,  Mr.  Grayson  —  Miss  Cluley 
and  her  sister  left  Blackpool  when  the  company  was 
broken  up,  and  never  from  that  moment  had  she  seen 
anything  of  Lord  Lakenham  until  they  met  under  my 
roof.  I  make  a  statement  there  which  I  defy  you  to 
disprove." 

The  detective  listened  and  inclined  his  head  slightly. 

"  My  investigations  as  to  what  followed  after  Black- 
pool have  yet  to  be  made,  Sir  Jermyn,"  he  said. 

"  You  spoke  of  some  questions,"  Jermyn  reminded 
him. 

"  I  have  some  questions,  a  few,  which  I  should  like  to 
ask,"  Grayson  confessed.  "  I  should  like  to  ask  you, 
for  instance,  what  were  your  general  impressions  as  to 
the  nature  of  the  terms  existing  between  Miss  Cluley 
and  the  deceased?  " 

"  They  met  as  fellow  guests  under  my  roof,"  Jermyn 
replied,  "  and  without  any  recognition  of  that  previous 
acquaintance,  which,  I  may  tell  you,  was  a  great  deal 
slighter  than  you  have  hinted.  Miss  Cluley  recalled 
it  and  mentioned  it  to  me.  Lord  Lakenham  never  went 
further  than  to  say  that  he  believed  they  had  met  be- 
fore. They  were  perfectly  civil  to  one  another  and 
that  was  all.  I  don't  suppose  that  they  exchanged  a 
hundred  words  all  the  time,  nor  half  a  dozen  sentences 
alone,  up  to  the  night  of  the  accident.  We  were  a 
small  party  and  we  were  generally  all  together,  except 
when  Miss  Cluley  and  I  were  engaged  reading  the  play 
which  I  have  been  preparing  for  her." 

"  Is  it  a  fact,"  Grayson  continued,  "  that  Miss  Sybil 
Cluley  endeavored  to  obtain  admission  to  the  Marquis* 
chamber  on  the  night  of  his  death?  " 

"  It  is  very  possible  that  she  went  there  to  inquire," 


228      THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

Jermyn  answered.  "  We  all  did  at  various  times  dur- 
ing the  night.  There  was  no  sleep  for  any  one." 

"  Miss  S}Hbil  Cluley  states  that  she  left  the  Marquis, 
of  Lakenham  alone  in  the  billiard-room  because  of  a 
headache,"  Grayson  went  on.  "  Had  she  complained 
to  any  one  of  feeling  unwell?  " 

"  Several  times,  and  to  several  people,"  Jermyn  as- 
sured him.  "  The  reason  she  refused  to  play  bridge  and 
started  that  unfortunate  game  of  billiards  at  all,  was 
because  she  did  not  feel  equal  to  anything  which  made 
any  demands  upon  her." 

Grayson  was  looking  out  of  the  window  steadily. 
At  this  juncture  he  slowly  turned  his  head  and  looked 
Jermyn  full  in  the  face. 

"  Is  it  true,  Sir  Jermyn,"  he  asked,  "  that  you  an- 
nounced your  engagement  to  Miss  Sybil  Cluley  at  An- 
nerley  Court  on  the  day  before  the  murder,  that  sub- 
sequently the  announcement  was  retracted,  and  that 
you  are  now  about  to  be  married  to  another  lady  ?  " 

"  You  make  free  with  my  concerns,"  Jermyn  replied, 
his  voice  trembling  with  anger.  "  What  you  say  has 
some  truth  in  it,  but  the  engagement  between  Miss 
Cluley  and  myself  was  never  confirmed.  She  is  too  de- 
voted to  the  stage  to  care  about  marriage." 

Grayson  folded  up  his  notebook  and  returned  it  to 
his  pocket. 

"  I  am  afraid,  Sir  Jermyn,"  he  said,  "  that  your 
prejudice  in  favor  of  this  young  lady  prevents  your 
considering  the  case  against  her  from  an  impartial 
point  of  view." 

"  If  I  have  any  prejudice  in  favor  of  her  at  all," 
Jermyn  retorted,  "  it  is  because  I  know  her  to  be  in- 
capable of  hurting  any  one  or  anything.  Her  feel- 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      229 

ings  toward  Lord  Lakenham  were  simply  feelings  of 
good-tempered  indifference.  She  started  that  game  of 
billiards  on  the  distinct  understanding  that  she  might 
leave  off  if  she  felt  unwell." 

"  The  weapon,  I  believe,"  Grayson  inquired,  "  has 
never  been  found  ?  " 

"  Never  to  my  knowledge." 

"  Might  I  ask  whether  a  visit  from  me  would  be  per- 
mitted at  Annerley  Court?  " 

"  It  would  not,"  Jermyn  declared.  "  I  am  perfectly 
satisfied  with  the  present  conduct  of  the  case,  and  I 
resent  your  interference  in  it." 

Grayson  rose. 

"  In  that  case,  sir,"  he  said,  "  you  will  permit  me 
to  retire.'* 

"  One  moment,  Grayson,"  Gerald  called  after  him. 
"  I  am  coming  along." 

"  I  will  await  you  in  the  car,  sir,"  Grayson  answered. 

The  detective  turned  stolidly  towards  the  door  and 
made  his  way  downstairs. 

"  You  don't  like  the  fellow,"  Gerald  remarked. 

Jermyn  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"  I  haven't  any  real  feelings  about  him,  only  I  can't 
help  thinking  that  his  interference  in  this  matter  is  un- 
necessary and  annoying.  His  remarks  about  Miss 
Cluley,  too,  I  look  upon  as  sheer  impertinence." 

Gerald  nodded  and  himself  prepared  to  depart. 

"  That's  all  very  well,  Jermyn,"  he  objected.  "  You 
think  a  great  deal  of  Miss  Cluley,  evidently,  and  I  dare- 
say she's  a  jolly  nice  girl,  but  every  word  of  what 
Grayson  has  said  is,  to  my  mind,  sound  common  sense. 
Come,  I  challenge  you,  now.  Tell  me  why  you  were 
engaged  to  Miss  Cluley  the  day  before  the  murder,  and 


23o      THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

now  you  are  going  to  marry  the  Duchesse  de  Sayers  ?  " 

"  The  matter  is  entirely  a  private  one,"  Jermyn  re- 
plied. "  You  know  very  well  that  Lucille  and  I  have 
been  the  greatest  friends  all  our  lives.  Our  marriage 
has  been  spoken  of  more  than  once." 

"  I  wonder  if  you  are  shielding  that  girl,  Jermyn  ?  " 
Gerald  asked  suddenly. 

Jermyn  never  flinched. 

"  You  don't  know  Miss  Cluley,  Gerald,  or  you 
wouldn't  ask  such  a  question." 

Gerald  smiled  as  he  turned  away. 

"  I  must  confess,"  he  declared,  with  a  little  sigh, 
"  that  there  have  been  times  when  I  have  wished  that  I 
did,  and  not  very  long  ago.  She  does  look  the  most 
delightful  person  on  the  stage,  and  quite,  as  you  say, 
as  though  she  wouldn't  hurt  a  fly.  .  .  .  Well,  so  long, 
old  fellow.  I  can  see  that  you  are  not  on  our  side. 
We  must  do  the  best  we  can  without  you." 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

Ten  minutes  after  his  visitor  had  departed,  Jermyn 
was  ringing  the  bell  at  the  door  of  Lucille's  house  in 
Grosvenor  Street.  There  was  a  brief  colloquy  between 
the  butler  and  a  French  maid,  and  after  a  very  short 
delay  Jermyn  was  taken  upstairs  into  a  little  boudoir. 
Madame  la  Duchesse,  the  maid  announced,  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  dressmaker,  but  monsieur  should  be  kept 
waiting  only  a  very  few  minutes.  Almost  as  she  de- 
parted, Lucille  swept  into  the  room  from  her  adjoining 
bedchamber,  dressed  in  a  wonderful  creation  of  green 
velvet  and  lace. 

"  You  are  just  in  time,  my  dear  Jermyn,"  she  de- 
clared. "  How  glad  I  am  to  see  you !  Madame  Lucie 
has  brought  some  of  my  dresses  round  herself,  and  we 
cannot  decide  about  the  length  of  this  jacket.  You  are 
a  man  and  therefore  you  know  nothing  about  it;  there- 
fore, you  ought  to  be  able  to  judge  precisely  what  is 
correct.  Shall  it  be  just  as  it  is  or  two  inches  lon- 
ger? " 

"  Two  inches  longer,"  Jermyn  replied,  without  hesi- 
tation. "  And,  Lucille,  I  want  just  a  word  with  you, 
at  once." 

She  closed  the  communicating  door. 

"  Well,  I  am  here,"  she  pointed  out.  "  I  can  assure 
you  that  you  are  the  only  person  whom  I  should  re- 
ceive under  such  conditions." 


232      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

"  Do  you  know  anything  of  a  man  named  Grayson  ? 
Has  he  been  to  see  you?  " 

Lucille  assented. 

"  He  called  a  few  minutes  ago  with  a  note  from  Ger- 
ald. I  was  going  to  tell  you  about  it  this  evening." 

"And  you?"  he  asked  swiftly. 

"  I  declined  to  receive  him.  Isn't  that  what  you 
would  have  wished?  " 

"  Entirely,"  Jermyn  replied,  in  a  tone  of  relief, 
"  You  did  not  see  him  at  all,  then  ?  " 

"  Certainly  not.  I  have  made  a  bargain  and  I  mean 
to  keep  to  it,  in  the  spirit  as  well  as  the  letter.  I  have 
no  information  to  give  him." 

"  Gerald  has  come  back  full  of  this  matter,"  Jermyn 
went  on,  "  and  he's  got  it  into  his  head  that  Scotland 
Yard  are  apathetic  about  it.  He's  gone  to  this  man 
Grayson  and  the  fellow  actually  admits  openly  that  he 
suspects  Sybil.  He  dared  to  ask  me  questions.  He 
showed  me  quite  clearly  the  line  his  investigations  were 
going  to  take." 

"  Jermyn,"  she  said  calmly,  "  I  am  the  only  person 
who  can  bring  this  thing  home  to  Sybil  Cluley.  My 
word  is  passed  to  you  and  Sybil  Cluley  is  safe.  I  sup- 
pose, in  your  ungallant  way,"  she  added,  making  a  lit- 
tle grimace  at  him,  "  you  would  say  that  you  were  pay- 
ing the  price." 

"  I  am  paying  the  price ! "  he  declared,  passionately. 
"  You  know  that  I  am !  I  love  Sybil  Cluley.  Every 
day  my  feeling  for  her  grows  stronger.  It  is  indeed 
a  price  that  I  am  paying  and  that  is  what  sometimes 
makes  my  blood  run  cold.  If  it  should  be  in  vain !  " 

"  There  is  no  fear  of  that,"  Lucille  assured  him. 
"  This  man  may  suspect,  as  any  one  who  knew  a  few 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      233 

ordinary  facts  which  I  presume  he  has  collected,  cer- 
tainly would  suspect.  What  do  his  suspicions  amount 
to?  Nothing  at  all.  There  are  hundreds  of  people 
who  Scotland  Yard  know  perfectly  well  are  guilty 
of  various  crimes,  but  they'll  go  free  all  their  days 
for  want  of  a  little  evidence.  The  only  evidence 
against  Sybil  Cluley  is  in  my  possession,  and  you  have 
bought  my  silence.  I  will  admit  at  once,  if  you  like, 
that  I  could  hang  her.  I  could!  It  is  easily  within 
my  power.  Yet  you  need  not  have  a  moment's  fear. 
She  will  be  as  free  in  twenty  years'  time  as  she  is  to- 
day." 

Jermyn  was  walking  restlessly  up  and  down  the  lit- 
tle room.  Its  very  luxury,  its  voluptuous  air  of 
femininity,  seemed  somehow  to  offend  him.  He  felt  the 
toils  coming  nearer! 

"  Sometimes,"  he  said,  "  I  think  that  we  have  made  a 
huge  mistake,  all  of  us.  For  if  Sybil  really  did 
this  — " 

"  If  Sybil  really  did  this ! "  Lucille  interrupted, 
mockingly. 

"  Leave  the  *  if '  out,  then,"  Jermyn  continued. 
"  Let  us  say  that  Sybil  did  it.  She  was  driven  to  it, 
she  was  mad,  the  brute  provoked  her.  I  respect  her  for 
it.  I  know  the  story  of  their  former  acquaintance.  I 
know  the  sort  of  man  Aynesworth  was.  I  can  guess 
what  passed  between  them  in  the  billiard-room.  In  a 
moment  of  anger  she  may  have  fired  that  shot.  I  don't 
believe  that  any  jury  in  England  who  knew  the  facts  of 
the  case  would  treat  her  severely." 

Lucille  laughed  contemptuously. 

"  My  dear  Jermyn,"  she  said,  "  we  are  not  in  France 
or  in  America.  There  are  no  unwritten  laws  here. 


234      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

The  man  or  woman  who  takes  life  pays  for  it  accord- 
ing to  the  old  biblical  law.  Our  juries  are  not  swayed 
by  sentiment  and  hysterics,  nor  our  judges  by  a  pretty 
woman's  tears.  Sybil  Cluley  did  well  to  conceal  her 
guilt,  and  you  have  done  well  to  buy  her  immunity. 
Only,  Jermyn,"  she  added,  coming  a  little  closer  to  him, 
"  I  do  wish  that  you  didn't  think  the  price  was  such  a 
terrible  one.  Do  you  believe  that  there  are  many  men 
who  would  feel  as  you  do?  " 

He  stood  and  looked  at  her.     She  took  his  hand. 

"  I  don't  count  them,"  she  went  on,  with  a  little 
smile  at  the  corners  of  her  lips,  "  but  I  must  have  had 
at  least  twenty  offers  of  marriage  within  the  last  few 
months.  Do  you  know,  I  wonder,  that  I  am  very  rich, 
that  my  name  is  a  famous  one,  that  I  am  supposed  to 
be  beautiful,  supposed  to  wear  my  clothes  well,  to  have 
a  personality?  I  could  have  been  a  duchess  again  in 
France,  a  princess  in  Germany,  a  marchioness  here,  or 
the  wife  of  one  of  your  greatest  Ministers.  Yet  here 
I  am,  almost  a  suppliant  at  your  hands.  You  aren't 
so  rich  as  those  other  men,  Jermyn;  you  aren't  even  as 
good-looking  as  some  of  them.  You  are  clever  in  your 
way  but  you  are  very  narrow;  you  are  full  of  preju- 
dices ;  you  are  only  half  educated.  Yet  I  want  you,  and 
I  want  you  to  care.  Some  day  you  will,  but  I  hate  to 
think  of  the  time,  even  though  it  be  only  months,  be- 
fore you  will  care." 

"  What  if  it  were  a  lifetime  ?  "  he  asked.  "  What  if 
I  were  never  to  care  at  all  ?  Narrow,  you  call  me ;  half 
educated;  full  of  prejudices.  Perhaps  I  am,  accord- 
ing to  the  modern  standard,  but  there  are  things  that  go 
with  that.  We  Annerleys  are  a  faithful  lot  to  our 
womankind,  and  for  all  your  disdain  of  her,  I  have 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      235 

never  met  any  woman  in  the  world  but   Sybil  Cluley 
who  counts  to  me." 

Lucille  half  closed  her  eyes.  Her  head  was  thrown 
proudly  back.  One  saw  that  she  was  suffering. 

"  A  moon-faced  chit,"  she  muttered,  "  paid  to  play 
antics  upon  the  stage  for  the  amusement  of  her  betters ! 
Jermyn,  I  can  understand  the  weak-kneed,  hobbledehoy 
sons  of  our  decent  people  going  and  throwing  them- 
selves away  upon  these  stage  puppets,  but  when  a  man 
like  you,  with  brains,  who  should  know  what  women 
really  are,  what  race  counts  for,  what  it  means  to  pos- 
terity, goes  moonstruck  about  a  little  actress  and  wants 
to  marry  her,  you  make  me  feel  inclined  to  wonder, 
after  all,  whether  I  shouldn't  do  the  kindest  thing  if  I 
turned  you  out  of  my  house  and  rang  up  Scotland  Yard 
on  that  telephone.  .  .  .  No,  I  won't  go  on,"  she  added. 
"  I  don't  mean  this,  of  course,  but  don't  talk  to  me  of 
Sybil  Cluley,  if  you  can  help  it.  Presently  I  hope  you 
will  understand  my  point  of  view.  And  now,  if  you 
don't  mind,  you  must  run  away,  please.  We  shall  meet 
later  on.  Where  is  it  we  are  dining?  I  forget  for  the 
moment  but  I  suppose  we  both  have  it  down." 

"  At  the  Rochesters',"  Jermyn  reminded  her. 

"  Of  course !  Dear  old-fashioned  people,  Florence's 
father  and  mother,  who  will  see  that  you  take  me  in  to 
dinner,  and  put  us  side  by  side,  and  nod  and  smile  all 
the  time  as  though  an  engagement  were  some  sort  of 
peculiarly  humorous  situation  devised  for  their  enter- 
tainment. Well,  Jermyn,  if  you  have  nothing  more  to 
say  to  me  about  this,  we  can  have  a  chat  about  other 
things  then.  But  so  far  as  my  side  of  the  bargain  is 
concerned,  you  needn't  be  afraid.  I  shall  keep  it. 
Sybil  Cluley  is  safe  and  will  remain  safe,  if  my  silence 


236      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

has  anything  to  do  with  it.  She  would  be  safe  if  my 
intervention  could  save  her." 

Jermyn  went  restlessly  out  into  the  street.  Lucille 
was  right.  He  had  been  a  fool  to  suspect  her.  He 
made  his  way  to  the  theatre  on  the  chance  of  seeing 
Sybil  there,  although  it  was  not  a  regular  rehearsal 
afternoon.  He  found  her  going  through  a  portion  of 
the  last  act  with  her  leading  man.  She  appealed  to  him 
at  once  about  a  rendering  of  her  part,  and  he  sat  in  the 
stalls  of  the  gloomy,  unlit  auditorium,  listening,  striving 
to  keep  his  mind  upon  the  disputed  psychological  ques- 
tion of  her  attitude  towards  the  man  whom,  notwith- 
standing his  faithlessness,  she  loved.  When  he  had 
given  his  decision,  he  returned  to  the  stage. 

"  I  shall  just  have  time,"  he  said,  "  to  drive  you 
home." 

"  You  are  getting  me  into  frightfully  extravagant 
habits,"  she  declared.  "  Whatever  shall  I  do,  I  won- 
der, when  I  have  to  look  after  myself  ah1  the  time?  " 

He  was  silent.  He  had  not  yet  arrived  at  the  stage 
in  their  relations  when  he  could  listen  to  such  speeches 
unmoved.  They  stepped  out  into  the  street  and  he  sent 
a  boy  for  a  taxicab.  At  that  moment  Grayson  went 
strolling  by.  Jermyn  excused  himself  with  a  muttered 
word  and  crossed  the  road.  He  accosted  Grayson  with 
little  ceremony. 

"  Look  here,"  he  began,  "  you  remember  me  ?  " 

"  Perfectly,    Sir   Jermyn,"   Grayson   replied. 

Jermyn  held  him  by  the  arm;  the  man  was  powerless 
to  move. 

"  Listen,"  he  continued  fiercely,  "  you  can  pursue 
your  dirty  work  when  and  how  you  like,  but  if  you  make 
yourself  in  any  way  obnoxious  to  the  young  lady  whom 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      237 

I  presume  you  are  here  to  watch,  I  shall  take  you  by 
the  scruff  of  the  neck,  law  or  no  law,  and  thrash  you  till 
you  howl  for  mercy.  I  don't  know  what  the  devil  men 
like  you  are  allowed  to  go  about  for,  poking  your  noses 
into  other  people's  business,  raking  up  the  ashes  of 
dead  miseries.  The  law  can  look  after  her  own  chil- 
dren and  her  own  sinners.  You  vermin,  trying  to  bring 
about  a  man  or  a  woman's  ruin  for  the  sake  of  your 
fees,  ought  to  be  stamped  out  of  existence.  You  under- 
stand me?  I  am  in  earnest." 

"  I  can  feel  that  you  are  in  earnest,  Sir  Jermyn," 
Grayson  remarked,  holding  his  arm.  "  I  will  not  argue 
with  you.  I  can  reply  only  that  I  have  accepted  a 
certain  commission  from  the  Marquis  of  Lakenham,  and 
so  far  as  I  am  able  I  shall  do  my  duty,  regardless  of 
whom  it  may  affect.*' 

"  Then  you  are  warned,"  Jermyn  exclaimed  fiercely, 
"  for  if  it  be  in  the  middle  of  Pall  Mall,  with  a  .dozen 
policemen  within  call,  the  first  time  I  come  across  you 
I'll  beat  you  till  you  can't  breathe,  if  I  find  you  making 
yourself  objectionable  to  that  lady  over  there.  So  now 
you  know.  Earn  your  money  if  you  can,  but  re- 
member ! " 

Jermyn  recrossed  the  street.  The  taxicab  was  stand- 
ing by  the  curb.  He  handed  Sybil  in  and  seated  him- 
self by  her  side,  white-hot  with  anger. 

"  My  dear  Jermyn ! "  she  cried. 

"  Sybil,  I  am  a  fool,"  he  admitted.  "  I  can't  help 
it.  That  ass  of  a  young  Lakenham  is  employing  a 
private  detective  —  that's  the  whole  truth." 

She  was  suddenly  frightened. 

"  You  don't  think  that  he'll  find  out  anything,  do 
you?  "  she  asked,  catching  at  his  hand. 


238      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

He  drew  her  fingers  firmly  into  his. 

"  My  dear,"  he  declared,  "  there  isn't  the  slightest 
fear.  There  is  not,  nor  ever  will  be,  any  evidence  forth- 
coming sufficient  to  justify  the  arrest  of  any  living  per- 
son for  killing  Lakenham.  That  I  know  to  be  a  fact. 
It's  the  annoyance  of  the  thing  which  I  feel  —  nothing 
else.  I  hate  that  slimy  sort  of  person,  wandering  about 
with  his  nose  to  the  ground,  planning  the  destruction  of 
a  human  being.  .  .  .  You  see,"  he  went  on,  in  a  mo- 
ment or  two,  "  I've  got  over  the  horror  of  it  all.  I  al- 
ways was  a  little  of  a  philosopher,  you  know,  and  if 
ever  there  was  a  man  who  deserved  to  die,  it  was  Laken- 
ham. I  am  sorry,  but  he's  dead,  and  he's  met  the  fate 
he's  gone  about  the  world  asking  for,  for  years.  That's 
how  I  look  at  it.  It  may  seem  callous.  You  may  not 
agree  with  me.  You  may  feel  a  little  more  sentiment 
about  it.  But  he's  dead  and  there's  an  end  of  it. 
That's  my  attitude." 

She  sat  by  his  side,  quite  silent. 

"  I  am  sorry  about  this  detective,"  she  said,  "  but 
you  are  right,  of  course.  It  isn't  of  any  serious  mo- 
ment. I  shan't  worry.  If  he  comes  to  me  and  asks 
questions,  well,  you  can  guess  what  will  happen.  Pres- 
ently it  will  all  simmer  down,  I  suppose." 

"  I'm  sick  of  the  newspapers  and  the  way  they've 
piled  it  on  about  this  affair,"  Jermyn  continued. 
"  Just  at  present  I'm  feeling  sublimely  egotistical.  To 
me  the  tragedy  of  Aynesworth's  death  is  nothing  like  the 
tragedy  of  my  taking  another  woman  to  be  my  wife. 
As  the  days  grow  nearer,  the  thing  rises  up  before  me 
like  a  great  threatening  shadow.  I  can't  look  beyond 
a  fortnight  to-morrow.  I  can't  realize  any  future  for 
myself  as  the  husband  of  Lucille." 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      239 

She  shivered  slightly,  but  she  kept  her  voice  steady. 

"  And  yet,  dear,"  she  reminded  him,  "  not  so  very 
long  ago  you  used  to  say  that  a  man's  real  life  was 
outside  the  ties  of  his  womankind." 

"  Thank  you  for  reminding  me  of  it,"  he  cried 
swiftly.  "  There  alone  is  where  my  hope  lies.  There 
are  plenty  of  others,  especially  in  our  world,  married, 
who  see  just  about  as  much  of  their  wives  as  they  do  of 
their  chefs.  Very  well.  Life  is  still  full  of  the  big 
things.  There's  the  work.  I  have  an  idea  for  a  long 
voyage  —  China,  perhaps.  Egypt  isn't  altogether 
played  out  for  any  one  with  a  trick  of  writing.  This 
is  all  in  the  future,  of  course.  And  there's  your  next 
play.  I  am  your  dramatist  for  life,  mind,  even  when 
you  have  your  own  theatre,  even  though  you  should  have 
an  actor-manager  for  a  husband." 

She  turned  away. 

"  I  don't  think,  dear,"  she  said,  "  that  I  shall  marry. 
However,  one  can  never  tell.  Here  we  are,  you  see.  I 
am  not  going  to  ask  you  in  to-night.  I  have  to  go  to 
a  woman's  dinner  at  the  Lyceum  Club  and  I  want  to 
make  a  few  notes.  Fancy  saying  things  about  the 
stage!  Doesn't  it  seem  absurd?  I  ought  to  have 
asked  you  to  have  written  out  my  speech  for  me.  And 
don't  worry  about  that  man.  I  don't  think  that,  start- 
ing as  late  as  he  has  done,  he  is  likely  to  find  out  much 
that  Scotland  Yard  hasn't  found  out  long  ago."  .  .  . 

Jermyn  returned  to  his  rooms,  somehow  or  other  a 
little  light-hearted.  He  got  through  his  dinner-party 
better  than  he  had  expected  and  he  left  Lucille  upon 
her  doorstep  with  blank  disregard  of  her  little  un- 
spoken invitation.  Then  he  called  in  at  the  club  and 
strolled  into  the  smoking-room.  He  was  still  on  the 


24o      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

threshold  of  the  room,  however,  when  he  heard  a  frag- 
ment of  conversation  from  the  depths  of  two  easy- 
chairs,  which  brought  him  to  a  standstill. 

"  Seen  the  papers  to-night,  Roland?  The  Star  says 
that  an  arrest  will  be  made  in  the  Lakenham  murder 
case  within  the  next  twenty-four  hours.  Some  new  in- 
formation has  come  into  the  hands  of  the  police." 

"  About  time,  too,"  another  voice  grumbled.  "  The 
police  never  had  a  simpler  case  put  into  their  hands. 
I  could  have  solved  that  little  mystery  for  them." 

Jermyn  came  forward  into  the  room.  One  of  the 
two  speakers  quickly  ordered  a  whisky-and-soda ;  the 
other  plunged  into  his  evening  paper.  Jermyn,  how- 
ever, nodded  amiably  at  both  of  them. 

"  No  need  to  shut  up  because  I  came  along,  old  chap," 
he  said  to  one  of  the  men,  whom  he  knew  well.  "  I 
only  hope  that  what  you  say  is  true.  Personally,  I 
don't  believe  it.  I  am  afraid,  somehow,  that  the  mo- 
ment has  gone  by.  I  don't  believe  that  the  person  who 
murdered  poor  Aynesworth  will  ever  be  discovered  now." 

It  was  the  first  time  Jermyn  had  joined  in  any  of 
the  little  discussions  concerning  the  affair.  His  friend, 
the  Honorable  Holland  Rorke,  who  was  to  be  his  best 
man,  silently  handed  him  up  the  paper.  There  was  a 
little  paragraph  of  only  three  lines : 

"  At  the  moment  of  going  to  press,  we  have 
received  information  of  a  confidential  nature,  to 
the  effect  that  an  arrest  will  be  made  in  the 
Lakenham  murder  case  within  the  next  twenty- 
four  hours." 

Jermyn  shook  his  head  as  he  handed  back  the  paper. 
"  I  only  wish  I  could  believe  it,"  he  declared. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

Notwithstanding  that  momentous  announcement,  the 
twenty-four  hours  passed  without  an  arrest.  Other 
days  followed.  There  was  a  period  of  dramatic  in- 
action. The  little  paragraph  in  the  paper  was  fol- 
lowed by  others.  People  whispered  at  the  clubs  about 
a  great  surprise.  Still  nothing  happened.  Then 
Gerald  called  upon  Jermyn  at  his  rooms  one  evening. 
Jermyn  was  making  a  few  last  arrangements.  His 
trunks,  all  packed,  stood  in  the  hall.  On  the  follow- 
ing afternoon  he  was  to  be  married,  and  after  the  re- 
ception he  and  Lucille  were  to  leave  for  Rome. 

Gerald  came  in  a  little  hesitatingly  but  Jermyn  was 
glad  enough  to  see  him. 

"  Pretty  near  the  end  of  your  bachelor  career  at 
last,  then,  Jermyn,"  the  young  man  remarked,  stretch- 
ing himself  out  in  an  easy-chair.  "  You've  kept  out 
of  it  pretty  well,  too.  Thirty-two  next  birthday,  I  see 
you  are.  Can't  think  how  you've  managed  it.  I'm 
twenty-four  and  I  very  nearly  came  to  grief  last  night 
at  the  Manninghams'.  I'm  too  susceptible,  you  know, 
Jermyn.  I  wish  I  could  take  something  to  keep  me 
off  the  books  till  I  was  —  say,  thirty." 

"  Try  travel,"  Jermyn  suggested. 

"  It's  too  jolly  interesting  at  home,"  Gerald  ob- 
jected. "  I  am  dead  nuts  on  shooting,  as  you  know, 
and  then  the  hunting  —  November  at  Melton  —  gor- 


242      THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

geous !  I  have  never  owned  more  than  a  couple  of 
gees  in  my  life,  remember.  Then  there's  the  lease  of 
that  salmon  river  runs  for  another  three  years  yet.  I've 
never  caught  any  really  big  fish,  and  old  Manningham 
was  telling  me  yesterday  that  he  never  had  such  sport 
in  his  life  as  he  had  up  there  with  poor  old  Aynesworth, 
last  spring." 

Jermyn  smiled. 

"  Well,"  he  said,  "  even  if  you  should  have  the  mis- 
fortune to  be  lured  into  an  early  matrimonial  pitfall, 
sport  remains,  doesn't  it?  There  will  be  still  your 
shooting  and  your  hunting  and  your  fishing." 

The  young  man  nodded. 

"  That's  true  enough,"  he  agreed.  "  That's  one  con- 
solation, anyway.  You  know,  Jermyn,"  he  went  on, 
"  I  can't  come  to  your  wedding  to-morrow,  can  I?  " 

"  Of  course  you  can't,"  Jermyn  replied.  "  I  quite 
understand  that." 

"  I  shall  look  in  at  the  reception  just  to  say  good- 
by,"  Gerald  continued,  "  but  it's  only  just  inside  two 
months.  Aynesworth  was  only  a  sort  of  second  cousin 
of  yours,  you  see,  whereas  he  was  my  own  brother." 

"  You  are  quite  right,"  Jermyn  assured  him.  "  Our 
own  wedding  would  have  been  postponed  longer  still 
but  for  certain  circumstances.  As  it  is,  it  is  going 
to  be  very  quiet.  No  function  of  any  sort." 

"  I  thought  I'd  like  to  look  you  up  for  a  minute  or 
two,"  Gerald  said,  "  before  you  went.  I  saw  Grayson 
this  morning.  He  told  me  that  he  had  reached  a  point 
in  his  investigations  when  he  was  absolutely  convinced 
in  his  own  mind  that  he  could  put  his  finger  upon  the 
guilty  party.  He  waits  only  for  one  slight  piece  of  evi- 
dence." 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN     243 

"  Did  he  mention  the  name,"  Jermyn  asked,  "  of  the 
guilty  party?  " 

"  He  did,"  Germyn  admitted. 

"Am  I  to  know?" 

"  Grayson  was  very  anxious  that  I  shouldn't  tell 
you,"  Gerald  replied.  "  Seems  afraid  of  you  for  some 
reason  or  another.  I  don't  believe  in  that  sort  of  thing 
myself.  Blood  is  thicker  than  water,  and  a  fellow 
like  that  doesn't,  of  course,  understand  how  we  feel. 
I  am  sure  that  you  only  want  the  truth  to  prevail,  and 
all  that.  Grayson  is  practically  convinced  that  Aynes- 
worth  was  shot  by  Miss  Sybil  Cluley." 

Jermyn  was  so  prepared  that  he  was  not  even  agita- 
ted. 

"  Of  course,"  he  said,  a  little  wearily,  "  there  isn't 
a  man  in  London  who  has  read  the  case  who  hasn't  at 
some  time  or  another  suggested  that  either  I  or  Miss  Sybil 
Cluley  committed  the  murder.  You  see,  as  a  matter  of 
fact  we  didn't,  Gerald.  That  is  why  this  wonderful 
discovery  of  Mr.  Grayson's  leaves  me  cold.  That  is 
why  I  hated  to  have  you  employ  him.  These  fellows 
are  never  really  any  good.  They  simply  walk  along 
the  obvious  path  and  choose  the  most  obvious  person 
as  a  butt  for  their  suspicions.  Miss  Sybil  Cluley  never 
fired  off  a  pistol  in  her  life.  She  doesn't  know  how. 
Besides  that,  remember,  she  had  no  quarrel  with  Aynes- 
worth." 

"  There  was  that  little  bit  of  her  past  in  which  Aynes- 
worth  seems  to  have  become  mixed  up,"  Gerald  reminded 
him. 

"  Absolutely  innocent ;  absolutely  unimportant," 
Jermyn  declared  warmly.  "  I  know  it  off  by  heart. 
I  knew  it  all  the  time.  There  was  no  harm  that  Aynes- 


244      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

worth  could  do  Sybil.  He  was,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
her  warm  admirer,  and  paid  her  continual  attentions 
that  night  at  dinner-time.  They  were  excellent  friends 
when  we  left  them,  and  it  was  quite  impossible  that  any 
cause  of  disagreement  of  so  serious  a  nature  could  have 
sprung  up  during  those  few  minutes." 

Gerald  nodded. 

"  Well,"  he  said,  "  that  sounds  all  right.  Personally, 
I  know  nothing  of  Miss  Sybil  Cluley  except  that  she's 
a  thundering  good-looking  girl,  and  I'd  much  rather 
think  that  it  was  any  one  else." 

"  I  wish  you'd  take  the  affair  out  of  the  fellow's 
hands,"  Jermyn  begged.  "  You  know,  I'm  leaving 
England  for  some  time,  to-morrow,  and  I  must  confess 
that  it  sits  like  a  black  cloud  over  me  to  think  that 
at  any  moment  I  may  hear  that  a  young  lady  for 
whom  I  have  the  sincerest  admiration  and  esteem,  who 
was  my  guest  at  the  time  this  thing  happened,  and  who, 
but  for  certain  circumstances,  would  have  been  my  wife, 
is  in  danger  of  being  annoyed  by  these  absurd  charges. 
I  feel  my  responsibility  as  host.  If  it  had  not  been  for 
my  very  pressing  invitation,  Miss  Cluley  would  never 
have  come  to  Annerley." 

"  I  can't  take  it  out  of  his  hands  now,"  Gerald  re- 
gretted. "  The  fellow's  worked  like  a  brick  and  I  have 
given  him  my  promise.  He's  frightfully  keen  over  the 
matter  and  he's  got  something  up  his  sleeve  that  he 
hasn't  even  told  me.  He  has  collected  all  his  evidence 
in  a  perfectly  justifiable  and  decent  sort  of  way.  He 
hasn't  bothered  Miss  Cluley  at  all  —  in  fact,  he  hasn't 
really  mentioned  her  name  to  me.  I  only  put  two  and 
two  together  myself  when  I  told  you  that  she  is,  with- 
out a  doubt,  the  person  whom  he  is  going  for." 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      245 

Jermyn  sat  quite  still  for  some  time,  looking  into 
the  fire. 

"  I  am  afraid  you're  a  bit  hit  over  all  this,  old  chap," 
Gerald  remarked.  "  I  am  sorry.  I  feel  for  you  very 
much  indeed.  But,  you  see,  right  behind  it  all  there 
was  poor  old  Aynesworth,  my  own  brother,  having  the 
devil  of  a  good  time,  a  decent  fellow,  in  his  way,  even 
if  he  was  a  bit  selfish  and  inclined  to  go  the  pace  a 
bit.  I  can  stand  a  man  being  killed  in  a  fight,  but 
hang  it  all,  a  cold-blooded  murder,  without  a  chance! 
I  can't  stick  it,  Jermyn.  If  I  had  a  grudge  against 
any  man  or  any  living  being  in  the  world,  so  that  I 
wanted  their  lives,  however  much  they  may  have  been 
in  the  wrong,  I'd  want  to  give  them  a  show.  I'd  rather 
stick  a  weapon  of  some  sort  in  their  hands  and  fight 
it  out  with  them.  Wouldn't  you?  You  wouldn't  go 
and  take  their  life  without  giving  them  a  chance?  It's 
a  dog's  death  and  I  can't  bring  myself  to  sympathize 
for  one  moment  with  a  murderer,  whatever  the  provo- 
cation." 

"  You  are  right,  of  course,"  Jermyn  admitted. 
"  Things  must  go  their  own  way,  Gerald.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  anything  happens  to  Miss  Cluley,  I  shall  come 
back  to  England  at  once.  Every  farthing  I  have  in 
the  world,  if  it  is  necessary,  will  be  spent  in  her  de- 
fense. And  there's  something  else,  Gerald.  If  I  find 
that  that  fellow  Grayson  has  been  concocting  any  evi- 
dence—  those  creatures  aren't  above  it,  you  know  — 
I'll  thrash  him  within  an  inch  of  his  life !  " 

Gerald  rose  slowly  to  his  feet. 

"  My  dear  fellow,"  he  declared,  "  if  I  thought  Gray- 
son  capable  of  anything  of  the  sort,  I  wouldn't  employ 
him.  As  regards  the  rest,  you  make  me  wonder  some- 


246      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

times,"  he  went  on,  as  he  stretched  out  his  hand  for 
his  gloves  and  stick,  "  what  half  the  rest  of  London 
are  wondering  —  why  you  didn't  marry  Sybil  Cluley  ?  " 

Jermyn's  features  were  suddenly  of  stone. 

"  Miss  Cluley  was  indisposed  to  leave  the  stage,  for 
one  thing,"  he  replied.  "  We  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  we  had  been  a  little  hasty.  Nothing  that  passed, 
though,"  he  added,  "  has  interfered  in  the  slightest 
degree  with  the  profound  respect  and  esteem  which  I 
have  for  her." 

Gerald  nodded. 

"  Well,"  he  said,  "  it's  not  my  business.  Good  luck 
to  you,  Jermyn !  Sorry  I  can't  be  there  to  see  you 
turned  off.  I've  sent  my  bit  of  an  offering  to  Lucille. 
Look  Cyril  up  in  Rome,  won't  you  —  he's  having  a 
fairly  good  time  at  the  Embassy.  And  so  long." 

Jermyn  threw  himself  into  his  easy-chair.  As  he  had 
opened  the  door  to  show  Gerald  out,  he  had  caught 
sight  once  more  of  his  trunks.  His  servants  had  come 
in  with  some  casual  inquiry  about  the  journey.  Per- 
haps for  the  first  time  he  realized  that  the  days  of  his 
respite  had  passed,  that  only  the  few  short  hours  of 
night  lay  between  him  and  his  marriage  to  Lucille.  It 
was  for  this,  then,  that  in  a  world  which  seemed  to 
have  deliberately  eschewed  them,  he  had  held  fast  to 
certain  primitive  and  exceedingly  unfashionable  ideals 
of  masculine  conduct  which  he  had  brought  with  him 
from  Oxford!  He  was,  after  all,  only  as  other  men. 
He  had  resisted  a  hundred  temptations;  he  had  fought 
with  himself  the  long,  silent  battles  which  go  to  the  mak- 
ing of  character.  He  had  waved  away  the  cup  which  had 
so  often  been  raised  to  his  lips,  to  give  himself  in  the 
end,  unwillingly  and  in  humiliation,  to  a  woman  for 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      247 

whom  he  had  no  love.  It  was  a  queer  end  to  a  strenuous 
celibacy!  .  .  .  He  looked  into  the  fire  and  he  wondered 
whether  Sybil,  too,  sat  in  that  little  room  of  hers,  think- 
ing of  these  passing  hours.  Somehow  or  other,  not- 
withstanding his  hatred  of  Grayson,  notwithstanding 
Gerald's  warning,  even,  the  terror  which  had  been  with 
him  during  the  last  few  weeks  was  becoming  all  the  time 
a  less  real  thing.  He  believed  implicitly  in  Lucille; 
he  believed  implicitly  in  that  utter  lack  of  evidence 
which  must  keep  Sybil  safe.  And  yet,  what  was  there 
could  save  her  from  her  own  thoughts?  What  a  hor- 
rible shadow  over  her  young  life!  This  was  what  his 
love  had  brought  to  her,  love  as  pure  and  strong  as 
any  man  could  feel,  love  which,  alas !  stripped  of  all 
its  joys,  redolent  only  of  pain,  must  dwell  in  his  empty 
heart  through  all  the  years  to  come. 

He  rose  restlessly  from  his  place  and  threw  open  the 
window  to  let  in  the  roar  of  the  city.  The  silence  of 
his  room  had  depressed  him  miserably.  The  blended 
voices  of  the  night  maddened  him.  Almost  he  could 
fancy  that  he  heard  peals  of  mocking  laughter,  the 
laughter  of  the  world  if  only  they  could  know  the 
truth.  She  sat  alone,  the  woman  whom  he  loved,  and 
he,  instead  of  being  by  her  side,  must  spend  this  last 
evening  in  still  more  utter  and  complete  solitude.  At 
that  moment  he  regretted  himself.  He  craved  even 
for  that  more  complete  paganism  which,  eliminated 
somehow  from  his  heart  during  those  earlier  and 
strenuous  days,  had  left  him  without  the  sympathy  of 
so  many  of  his  fellow-creatures.  He  looked  up  at 
his  gods  and  he  hated  them.  For  the  first  time  he  felt 
disposed  to  despise  and  even  to  ridicule  his  non-ac- 
ceptance of  the  middle-class  standards  of  his  sex,  which 


248      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

kept  him  apart  now  from  those  whose  sympathy  and 
companionship  might  have  made  life  an  easier  thing. 
There  was  no  ir.an  to  whom  he  could  tell  his  troubles. 
There  was  no  man  in  the  world  to  whom  he  could  speak 
of  the  pain  which  throbbed  at  his  heart.  There  was 
no  man  who  would  understand,  no  friend's  voice  to  tell 
him  that  he  was  doing  well,  that  in  the  days  to  come 
he  and  she  would  rejoice.  This  was  the  price  he  was 
to  pay ! 


CHAPTER  XXX 

Neither  an  earthquake  nor  a  miracle  happened.  At 
half-past  two  on  the  following  afternoon,  Lucille  and 
Jermyn  passed  down  the  red  druggeted  path,  along  the 
tented  way,  and,  with  the  clashing  of  bells  behind  them, 
drove  from  the  church  where  they  had  been  married  to 
the  hotel  in  Hans  Crescent  where  the  reception  was  to 
be  held.  Lucille  gripped  her  companion's  hand  and, 
leaning  a  little  forward,  glanced  at  him  curiously. 

"  My  dear  Jermyn,"  she  exclaimed,  "  it  is  indeed  you 
who  might  be  the  bride  to-day!  You  are  so  pale,  and 
your  eyes  seem  to  see  things  so  far  off.  Do,  for  the 
sake  of  my  vanity,  cultivate  more  the  air  of  the  happy 
bridegroom.  Look  at  me." 

He  turned  and  obeyed  her.  At  that  very  moment, 
half  a  score  of  journalists  were  writing  that  the  most 
beautiful  woman  in  London  had  just  been  married. 
There  was,  without  a  doubt,  some  truth  in  their  words. 
Lucille  was  exquisite,  more  fascinating  than  ever  with 
this  touch  of  scarlet  in  her  cheeks,  this  gleam  of  real 
excitement  in  her  eyes. 

"  Kiss  me,  Jermyn,"  she  whispered.  "  Let  me  see 
whether  I  can't  bring  just  a  shade  of  color  into  your 
cheeks." 

He  touched  her  lips  with  his  own  but  drew  back  al- 
most at  once. 

"Lucille,"   he   said,   "I   shaU   do   my   best.     Don't 


250      THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

treat  me,  though,  as  if  I  were  a  child,  to  be  coaxed 
from  ill-humors  into  good  ones  by  kisses  and  sweet- 
meats. I  have  paid  your  price.  Isn't  that  enough?  " 

"  Not  nearly  enough,"  she  murmured.  "  You  are 
my  husband  now,  indeed,  as  I  always  prayed  that  some 
day  you  might  be,  but  there  are  other  things,  you  know, 
which  I  have  a  right  to  expect  from  you  besides  your 
name.  I  want  you  to  look  as  though  you  are  glad 
I  belong  to  you." 

"  I  am  no  actor,  but  I  will  do  my  best,"  he  promised. 
"  I  will  do  my  best  now  and  I  will  do  my  best  always 
to  make  you  happy,  but  if  I  fail,  remember  that  it 
was  your  risk  and  not  mine." 

Arrived  at  the  hotel,  they  separated,  to  meet  again 
a  few  minutes  later  in  the  reception  room.  Already 
the  guests  were  beginning  to  stream  in.  The  quiet 
wedding  had  grown  and  grown.  People  had  begged  to 
be  allowed  just  to  look  in,  to  shake  hands  with  the  bride- 
groom, to  wish  happiness  to  the  bride.  And  all  the 
time  the  carriages  kept  arriving.  Jermyn,  whose 
natural  instincts  were  all  courteous  ones,  moved  con- 
tinually about  among  his  guests,  returning  now  and 
then  to  Lucille's  side.  Every  one  spoke  to  him  about 
her  wonderful  beauty.  It  was  surely  the  one  day  of 
her  life!  She  was  brilliant,  she  said  the  right  thing 
to  every  one,  her  attitude  even  towards  Jermyn  was 
perfect.  Despite  himself,  she  made  him  appear  at  his 
best.  People  began  to  remark  that,  notwithstanding 
a  certain  amount  of  gossip,  this  seemed  likely  to  be  a 
most  successful  match. 

The  rooms  were  almost  filled  when  Jermyn,  who  was 
in  the  act  of  raising  a  glass  to  his  lips  to  drink  with 
an  old  friend,  became  suddenly  rigid.  He  set  the  glass 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      251 

down  and,  with  a  word  of  excuse,  crossed  the  room 
to  where  a  man  was  standing  a  little  apart  from  the 
others,  looking  in  upon  the  gay  scene.  He  was  dressed 
in  conventional  fashion,  he  wore  even  a  white  flower  in 
his  buttonhole,  and  a  gray  tie,  but  there  was  no  mis- 
taking Grayson. 

"  May  I  ask,"  Jermyn  inquired,  doing  his  best  to 
speak  calmly,  "  to  what  we  are  indebted  for  the  pleas- 
ure of  your  presence  here?  " 

Grayson  faced  his  questioner  with  equanimity. 

"  Sir  Jermyn,"  he  replied,  "  I  am  here  in  the  dis- 
charge of  my  duty.  My  investigations  have  carried  me 
up  to  a  certain  point  and  beyond  it.  I  am  associated 
now  with  the  law  and  I  must  ask  you  to  respect  my 
position." 

"  What  the  devil  do  you  mean?  "  Jermyn  demanded, 
in  a  low  tone. 

Grayson  glanced  around.  They  were  on  the  edge  of 
a  little  crowd  of  people  and  conversation  was  not  easy. 

"  Sir  Jermyn,"  he  advised,  "  go  back  to  your  place 
and  leave  me  alone.  Within  a  few  minutes  you  will 
know  the  solution  of  that  mystery  which  I  am  afraid 
has  brought  unhappiness  to  a  good  many  people." 

"  You  mean  to  say,"  Jermyn  persisted,  "  that  you 
are  going  to  make  an  arrest  —  an  arrest  here  ?  " 

"  I  am  going  to  assist  in  that,  beyond  a  doubt," 
Grayson  told  him. 

"  Among  my  guests  ?  " 

"  Among  your  guests,  Sir  Jermyn." 

For  a  moment  the  room  seemed  to  swim.  Jermyn 
looked  around  him  wildly.  That  Sybil  should  find  her 
way  here  seemed  to  him,  of  all  impossible  things  in 
the  world,  the  most  impossible!  Then  came  an  inter- 


252      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

ruption  which  it  was  impossible  to  ignore.  The  Duke 
of  Rochester  touched  him  on  the  shoulder. 

"  My  dear  Jermyn,"  he  said,  "  as  your  father's  old- 
est friend  it  is  my  privilege  to  come  here  to-day  to 
drink  a  glass  of  wine  with  you  and  to  wish  you  every 
happiness.  I  am  an  invalid  and  allowed  to  stay  for 
only  a  short  time.  You  will  forgive  me,  therefore,  I 
am  sure,  if  I  interrupt  your  conversation  with  this 
gentleman." 

The  small  conventionalities  of  life  often  sweep  aside 
the  great  tragedies.  Jermyn  walked  side  by  side  with 
the  Duke  to  the  buffet,  around  which  so  many  groups 
were  gathered  together. 

"  I  was  your  father's  school  and  college  friend,"  the 
Duke  remarked,  as  they  took  their  glasses  of  wine  from 
the  waiter.  "  I  tipped  you  when  you  wore  your  first 
pair  of  trousers;  I  was  at  Lord's  when  you  made  your 
first  century ;  I  proposed  your  health  the  day  you  came 
of  age.  I  have  known  Lucille,  too,  all  her  life.  She 
is  an  exceedingly  clever  woman.  If  you  are  ambitious, 
Jermyn,  and  they  tell  me  that  you  are,  I  know  of  no 
one  who  could  make  you  a  better  wife.  I  drink  to  your 
happiness,  I  drink  to  the  happiness  of  your  married 
life.  Ah,  here  comes  Lucille!  It  is  charming  to  be 
able  to  include  her  in  my  good  wishes." 

He  held  out  his  hands.  Lucille  greeted  him  with 
a  delightful  smile.  There  was  a  man  by  her  side  — 
clean-shaven,  broad,  good-looking  in  his  way,  with  a 
dash  of  the  transatlantic  about  his  carriage.  She 
kept  the  Duke  with  her  right  hand  while  she  spoke  to 
Jermyn. 

"  Jermyn,"  she  said,  "  it  was  only  the  other  day  that 
I  heard  you  mention  the  name  of  Mr.  Aaron  Chalmers. 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      253 

I  met  him  yesterday  and  asked  him  to  come  in  and  see 
us  this  afternoon.  He  would  like  to  make  your  ac- 
quaintance." 

"  And  to  offer  you,"  Mr.  Chalmers  declared,  with 
a  little  bow,  "  my  very  heartiest  congratulations.  I 
cannot  conceive  the  possibility  of  there  being  a  hap- 
pier man  upon  the  face  of  this  earth  than  the  man 
who  has  the  good  fortune  to  be  the  husband  of  my  dear 
friend,  the  Duchesse  de  Sayers." 

"  You  are  very  kind,"  Jermyn  murmured,  as  he  shook 
hands.  "  I  remember  asking  my  wife  whether  she  had 
seen  anything  of  you  lately,  only  the  other  day,  be- 
cause an  acquaintance,  a  fellow-countryman  of  yours, 
by  the  by,  asked  me  particularly  where  he  could  find 
you." 

"  Is  that  so  ?  "  Mr.  Chalmers  remarked,  good-humor- 
edly.  "  What  was  his  name  ?  " 

"  His  name,"  Jermyn  replied,  "  was  Norden  Smith." 

Mr.  Aaron  Chalmers  stopped  in  the  middle  of  drink- 
ing his  champagne.  He  looked  fixedly  at  Jermyn. 
Then  he  drained  the  contents  of  the  glass  and  set  it 
down. 

"  Is  Norden  Smith  over  here  now?  "  he  inquired,  in 
a  completely  altered  tone. 

"  I  don't  think  that  he  is,"  Jermyn  answered.  "  It 
was  a  little  over  a  fortnight  ago  that  I  met  him  in 
Bond  Street.  He  lunched  with  me  at  my  club  and  at 
his  request  I  made  some  inquiries  about  your  where- 
abouts. They  told  us  that  you  were  in  the  States.  I 
have  not  seen  Norden  Smith  since,  but  I  have  an  idea 
that  he  intended  leaving  for  New  York  a  few  days 
later." 

Mr.  Aaron  Chalmers,  although  he  had  not  regained 


254      THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

his  former  appearance  of  complacent  good-humor, 
seemed  to  be  somewhat  relieved. 

"  Well,"  he  declared,  "  I  wish  the  fellow  no  harm, 
but  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  think  that  he  is  going  to 
stay  there.  Between  you  and  me,  Sir  Jermyn,  Mr. 
Norden  Smith  is  somewhat  of  a  crank.  He  has  a  par- 
ticularly charming  and  attractive  wife,  whom  I  have 
the  pleasure  of  knowing,  but  as  regards  Mr.  Norden 
Smith  himself,  well,  I  should  be  just  as  well  content 
to  think  that  we  were  not  going  to  meet  again  in  this 
world.  Do  you  know  him  intimately,  may  I  ask  ?  " 

"  Not  in  the  least,"  Jermyn  replied.  "  I  only  met 
him  once  before  this  time.  He  called  to  see  me  one 
night  at  Annerley.  He  was  anxious  to  renew  his  ac- 
quaintance with  Lord  Lakenham,  who  he  heard  was 
staying  with  me." 

"And  did  he?"  Mr.  Chalmers  asked,  in  a  very  low 
tone. 

"  Unfortunately,  no ! "  Jermyn  answered.  "  Mr. 
Norden  Smith  arrived  at  Annerley  Court  only  a  very 
few  minutes  after  a  sad  tragedy  had  happened  there. 
You  read,  without  a  doubt,  of  the  murder  of  Lord 
Lakenham?  It  took  place,  as  you  may  remember,  in 
my  house." 

Mr.  Aaron  Chalmers,  for  a  strong  man,  seemed 
curiously  emotional.  He  picked  up  his  empty  glass 
and  held  it  to  the  waiter. 

"  Fill  this  quickly,"  he  ordered. 

The  man  obeyed  him.  The  hand  of  Mr.  Aaron 
Chalmers  shook  so  that  some  of  the  wine  was  spilt  upon 
the  carpet.  Mr.  Chalmers  made  no  apology.  He 
lifted  the  glass  to  his  lips  and  drained  all  of  the  wine 
that  was  left. 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      255 

"  Sir  Jenny  n,"  he  remarked,  "  I  am  glad  you  have 
told  me  this.  The  man  Norden  Smith  is  a  lunatic. 
He  is  one  of  those  people  who  go  about  the  world 
with  a  single  weird,  distorted  idea.  He  ought  to  be 
locked  up.  He  is  one — " 

Mr.  Aaron  Chalmers  said  no  more.  Such  change  as 
there  had  been  in  him  before  from  the  complacent  man 
of  the  world  whom  Lucille  had  introduced  to  Jermyn, 
was  nothing  to  the  change  which  was  apparent  in  him 
now.  His  jaw  hung  loose,  his  eyes  were  fixed  and 
glazed,  he  was  shaking  like  a  frightened  schoolboy. 
Then  across  the  room  with  measured  footsteps,  also 
with  a  white  flower  in  his  buttonhole,  came  Mr.  Norden 
Smith,  and  as  fast  as  Mr.  Norden  Smith  moved  towards 
the  bridegroom  as  though  with  the  intention  of  con- 
gratulating him,  so,  only  a  little  faster,  came  Mr.  Gray- 
son  from  his  place  on  the  outside  of  the  circle. 

"  Sir  Jermyn,"  Mr.  Norden  Smith  declared,  "  I  con- 
gratulate you.  Give  me  your  hand,  sir." 

Jermyn  recognized  his  visitor  with  surprise. 

"  Norden  Smith !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  Why,  your  name 
was  upon  my  lips  only  a  moment  ago.  You  are  back 
again  from  America  already,  then?  I  am  glad  to  see 
you." 

Mr.  Norden  Smith  wrung  his  hand. 

"  I  trust,"  he  said,  "  that  I  shall  not  in  any  way  dis- 
turb the  serenity  of  this  function.  I  would  gladly  post- 
pone a  little  matter  I  have  on  hand,  but  for  the  fact 
that  I  am  afraid  it  has  become  one  of  urgency.  Sir 
Jermyn,  to-day  you  enter  upon  married  life.  Fifteen 
years  ago  I,  too,  was  married.  I  have  loved  my  wife 
every  second  of  my  days,  with  every  thought  of  my 
brain,  with  every  pulse  of  my  body.  Fate  decreed  that 


256      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

my  love  should  be  unworthily  given.  A  few  months 
ago  I  made  a  discovery  which  has  brought  these  gray 
hairs  to  my  head,  which  brought  tragedy  to  your  peace- 
ful home  at  Annerley,  which  brings  tragedy  even  to 
your  wedding  breakfast.  It  was  I  who  shot  Lord 
Lakenham,  it  is  I  who  at  this  minute  am  about  to 
shoot  Aaron  Chalmers.  These  two  men  robbed  me  of 
my  wife.  Lord  Lakenham  has  paid  the  penalty. 
Aaron  Chalmers  now  pays  it ! " 

It  was  an  affair  of  a  moment.  Even  as  Grayson 
sprang  upon  him  and  another  stranger  from  among 
the  crowd  threw  an  arm  around  him  from  the  other 
side,  the  hand  of  Mr.  Norden  Smith  flashed  out.  There 
was  a  little  puff  of  smoke,  a  report,  and  Aaron  Chalmers 
went  backwards,  a  crumbled  heap  upon  the  floor.  Mr. 
Norden  Smith  stood  with  the  pistol  still  in  his  hand, 
gazing  down  upon  the  prostrate  form  with  a  smile  of 
peculiar  satisfaction. 

"  Ladies  and  gentlemen,"  he  said,  looking  away  as 
though  with  reluctance  from  the  body  of  his  enemy, 
"  I  offer  you  my  heartfelt  apologies.  I  represent  a 
spectre  at  this  feast,  and  yet,  in  a  sense,  there  is  mean- 
ing in  my  presence.  I  am  one  of  those  who  believe  in 
fidelity  and  who  repay  infidelity  with  death.  That  is 
my  mission  here.  Perhaps  you  have  drunk  the  health 
of  your  bride  and  bridegroom  to-day.  Perhaps  you 
have  spoken  to  them  of  the  duties  of  married  life. 
Here  is  a  little  background  for  your  text.  With  the 
bullet  which  has  entered  that  man's  heart,  I  have  re- 
paid the  broken  vows  of  a  wife  whom  I  have  loved  as 
dearly  as  any  of  you  have  loved  one  another.  It  is 
my  pleasure  to  pay  whatever  penalty  the  laws  can  in- 
flict." 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      257 

Notwithstanding  the  commotion,  every  word  of  Mr. 
Norden  Smith's  little  speech  was  plainly  audible.  One 
or  two  of  the  men  were  bending  over  Chalmers,  but 
the  people  mostly  had  fallen  away,  many  of  the  women 
with  their  hands  before  their  faces.  A  group  of  peo- 
ple, gathered  at  the  buffet,  stood  as  though  trans- 
fixed, with  their  wineglasses  still  in  their  hands. 
Jermyn,  with  his  fingers  gripping  Grayson's  shoulders, 
was  asking  him  questions  in  a  low,  fierce  whisper.  Mr. 
Norden  Smith  himself  handed  his  weapon  to  the  man 
in  whose  grip  he  was. 

"Be  careful,"  he  enjoined.  "There  is  still  another 
barrel  loaded.  You  see,  I  have  not  used  it  even  for 
myself.  I  want  the  pleasure  of  the  next  few  days, 
the  pleasure  of  reflecting  upon  what  I  have  done.  My 
apologies,  Sir  Jermyn!  Might  I  suggest,  sir,"  he 
added  to  Grayson,  "  that  you  and  your  companion  hand- 
cuff me  and  take  me  away  at  once,  so  that  this  little 
ceremony  can  proceed  ?  " 

He  walked  blithely  to  the  door  between  his  two 
guards.  He  left  behind  him  a  scene  of  complete  and 
dramatic  confusion.  Two  women  had  fainted;  another 
was  in  hysterics.  Many  were  looking  about  them  in 
a  vacant  sort  of  way,  as  though  they  found  it  impossible 
to  realize  the  tragedy  of  the  whole  proceeding.  Across 
the  heads  of  their  guests,  Lucille  and  Jermyn  stood 
looking  at  one  another! 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

With  the  departure  of  Norden  Smith,  people  seemed 
to  recover  from  their  stupefaction.  With  one  accord 
they  hastened  to  take  their  leave.  In  a  very  few  mo- 
ments there  were  left  in  the  room  only  Lucille  and 
Jermyn,  Lucille's  friend  and  bridal  attendant  —  Lady 
Florence  Effingham,  and  Jermyn's  best  man  —  the  Hon- 
orable Holland  Rorke.  Neither  Lucille  nor  Jermyn 
had  spoken  a  word.  It  was  Rorke  who  attacked  the 
subject,  first  helping  himself  to  a  glass  of  cham- 
pagne. 

"  After  all,  you  know,"  he  declared,  "  I  am  not  sure 
that  this  ought  not  to  be  a  relief  to  everybody.  Fright- 
fully dramatic  and  all  that,  and  a  terrible  shock  to 
you  people  it  must  have  been,  and  I  am  sorry  for  poor 
old  Chalmers,  who  wasn't  such  a  bad  sort,  but  when  you 
come  to  think  of  it,  it  is  rather  a  relief  to  have  this 
matter  of  Lakenham's  death  straightened  out." 

"  A  very  sensible  point  of  view,"  Lady  Florence 
agreed.  "  Of  course,  I  think  it  was  the  worst  pos- 
sible taste  of  that  man  to  come  and  make  such  a  hate- 
ful scene  here.  I  am  sure  I  am  shaking  all  over.  The 
best  thing  we  can  do  now,  though,  is  to  try  and  forget 
it.  Come  along,  Lucille,  it's  time  you  changed  your 
frock." 

Lucille  turned  towards  the  door.  Then  Jermyn 
spoke  for  the  first  time. 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      259 

"  Lucille,'*  he  said,  "  before  you  go  upstairs  may 
I  have  one  word  with  you  ?  " 

He  pointed  to  the  door  of  the  anteroom.  Lucille 
hesitated.  Once  more  their  eyes  met  and  she  began  to 
tremble. 

"  Wouldn't  it  do,"  she  ventured,  "  in  the  carriage 
or  in  the  train?  I  am  just  a  little  shaken  for  the  mo- 
ment. I  should  be  so  glad  to  rest  until  the  time  came 
to  start." 

Jermyn's  fingers  still  pointed  toward  the  door. 

"  I  am  sorry,"  he  replied.  "  I  will  not  keep  you 
for  more  than  a  minute  or  two." 

Lucille  had  the  air  of  one  looking  around  her  as 
though  anxious  to  escape.  There  was  no  escape,  how- 
ever. Jermyn's  voice  was  so  quiet  and  yet  so  decided 
that  neither  of  the  other  two  interfered.  Very  slowly 
Lucille  turned  and  crossed  the  room  towards  the  in- 
ner chamber.  Jermyn  followed  her  and  closed  the  door 
behind  them. 

"  Lucille,"  he  said,  "  I  am  waiting  for  your  ex- 
planation." 

She  made  her  way  to  an  easy-chair,  groping  her  way 
with  her  hands  as  though  she  were  in  fear  of  falling. 
Then  she  threw  herself  into  it  and,  leaning  over  the 
side,  kept  her  head  turned  from  him. 

"  I  thought  that  Sybil  Cluley  did  it,"  she  declared. 
"  I  determined  to  make  you  believe  that  she  did  —  it 
was  better  for  you." 

"  Is  that  your  explanation?  "  Jermyn  asked. 

She  made  no  answer.  Jermyn  came  a  little  nearer. 
He  stood  upon  the  hearthrug,  looking  down  at  her. 

"  Lucille,"  he  continued,  "  I  cannot  bring  myself  to 
believe,  even  now,  that  you  have  stooped  so  low,  that 


260      THE    WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN 

you  have  acted  so  shameful  a  part.  You  say  that  you 
believed  Sybil  Cluley  was  guilty.  To  me  you  swore 
it.  You  have  posed  ever  since  as  having  saved  her. 
You  made  me  believe  that  but  for  you  she  would  have 
been  arrested.  My  God,"  he  went  on,  his  voice  shak- 
ing for  the  first  time,  "  you  did  more !  You  made 
me  believe  that  she  was  guilty ! " 

Lucille  kept  her  head  down.     She  said  nothing. 

"  Do  you  mean,  then,  that  you  have  no  further  ex- 
planation to  offer  me  than  this  ?  "  Jermyn  persisted. 
"  You  have  induced  me  to  go  through  this  d  —  d  cere- 
mony by  a  trick !  What  do  you  expect  to  gain  by 
it  now?  Do  you  imagine  for  a  moment  that  I  shall 
consider  myself  your  husband?  " 

She  looked  up. 

"  You  are  my  husband,"  she  reminded  him.  "  Noth- 
ing can  alter  that." 

Jermyn's  eyes  suddenly  caught  flame. 

"  You  wear  my  name,"  he  cried  brutally,  "  if  that 
is  any  use  to  you!  What  else  of  me  do  you  claim? 
My  company?  My  protection?  Rubbish!  There 
isn't  a  woman  upon  the  face  of  this  earth,  Lucille,  to- 
day, whom  I  dislike  and  despise  as  I  do  you." 

She  sprang  to  her  feet  and  stood  before  him,  quiver- 
ing. His  words  had  stung  through  her  fears.  She 
was  ready  now  to  fight. 

"  You  fool,  Jermyn !  "  she  exclaimed.  "  Can't  you 
see  that  what  I  did,  I  did  for  your  own  sake  as  well 
as  mine?  I  did  nobody  any  harm.  I  just  wanted  to 
save  you  from  making  a  miserable  marriage.  You're 
not  one  of  those  who  go  about  the  world  with  their 
eyes  open.  You're  at  home  in  your  study,  or  surr 
rounded  with  your  books,  or  on  the  hilltops  or  in  the 


THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN      261 

beautiful  lonely  places  of  the  world,  but  when  you 
come  down  into  the  market-place  you're  an  idiot.  Do 
you  hear  that  —  an  idiot !  You  need  a  keeper  all  the 
time.  Your  very  vision  is  distorted.  You  know  about 
many  things  in  life.  You  know  the  springs  that  govern 
human  action.  Your  plays  are  wonderful  pieces  of 
geometrical  psychology.  But  the  real  men  and  women 
of  our  days,  whom  one  meets  as  one  passes  along,  you 
know  no  more  about,  Jermyn,  than  the  Arab  who  rides 
his  camel  across  the  desert.  You,  Jermyn  Annerley, 
daring  to  tell  us  down  at  Annerley  that  you  were  go- 
ing to  marry  a  little  girl  from  the  theatre,  a  daughter, 
without  a  doubt,  of  some  poor  tradespeople,  a  girl 
who  has  had  to  struggle  all  through  her  youth  to  get 
engagements,  making  herself  agreeable  to  all  sorts  and 
conditions  of  impossible  people,  living  half  the  time  in 
want,  living  always  in  the  sort  of  way  those  people 
must.  Yet  you  can  sit  in  your  study  and  you  make 
a  heroine  come  down  to  you  from  the  skies,  and  you 
clothe  her  and  make  her  beautiful,  and  you  carry  her 
with  you  in  your  brain  and  in  your  heart,  and  you 
wander  out  into  that  little  bit  of  London  you  call  the 
world  and  find  this  moon-faced  chit,  who  can  chant 
your  speeches  prettily  and  knows  all  the  tricks  of  say- 
ing them,  and  you  immediately  shower  upon  her  all 
the  wealth  of  your  fancy,  you  throw  yourself  at  her 
feet  —  she,  this  little  actress,  is  to  be  dressed  in  all 
those  wonderful  garments,  and  you  won't  see,  you  "won't 
see  that  they  never  could  fit.  Oh,  you  fool,  Jermyn ! 
You  fool!  I  haven't  spoken  a  word  about  myself. 
It's  as  much  for  your  own  sake  as  for  any  one's  that 
I  have  saved  you  from  tying  up  your  life  unworthily." 
*'  Have  you  finished?  " 


262      THE    WAY    OF    THESE   WOMEN 

"  Isn't  it  enough? "  she  demanded.  "  Well,  I've 
spoken  of  her.  Shall  I  tell  you  of  myself,  too? 
Haven't  you  heard  it  already?  Look  at  me.  I've 
told  you  about  the  other  men.  Well,  I'll  tell  you  about 
myself.  A  woman  who  is  built  as  I  am,  Jermyn,  loves 
only  once.  I  have  read  as  much  poetry  as  you  have, 
thought  as  many  beautiful  thoughts,  kept  my  footsteps 
clean  from  the  muddy  places ;  but  all  the  same  I  have 
lived  in  the  world.  That's  the  difference.  The  strings 
of  life  have  pulled  at  me,  they  have  kept  my  feet 
upon  the  earth,  and  I  have  measured  men  and  speeches 
and  gone  serenely  on,  content  to  wait  for  the  greater 
things.  Jermyn,  don't  look  at  me  as  though  I  were 
some  one  far  away.  It  is  the  one  jewel  of  life  which 
I  offer  to  you,  and  I've  kept  it  just  as  jealously  as 
you  have  cherished  your  impossible  fancies.  Don't  you 
feel  it?  Aren't  you  big  enough  to  know  it?  I  love 
you  with  all  my  heart  and  all  my  soul.  I  love  you  so 
that  it  was  torture  to  me  to  sit  at  your  table  and  watch 
you  and  that  girl.  I  don't  understand  it;  no  one  does 
understand  these  things.  But,  Jermyn,  if  love  will 
make  you  happy,  if  love  can  keep  you  young,  come 
here,  come  to  me.  There  isn't  anybody  in  the  world 
can  give  you  what  I  can  give.  There  isn't  as  much 
love  for  you  in  the  whole  shallow  heart  of  your  little 
comedy  actress  as  you  can  take  from  my  lips  now, 
always,  every  time  you  touch  them.  Jermyn !  " 

Her  arms  called  to  him,  her  lips,  her  eyes.  In  her 
tone  had  rung  the  triumphant  consciousness  of  truth, 
overwhelming,  self-convicting,  truth  which  neither  antic- 
ipates nor  believes  in  denial.  Even  when  she  had 
finished,  she  did  not  for  a  moment  realize  her  failure. 
Something  in  the  artistic  subconsciousness  of  the  man 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      263 

had  leaped  up,  responsive  to  the  fine  quality  of  her 
words,  to  the  compelling  truth,  the  almost  anguished 
appeal  which  burned  in  her  sentences.  The  color  had 
come  into  his  cheeks;  his  eyes  were  glowing.  It  was 
a  wonderful  change.  She  had  never  seen  Jermyn  like 
this.  He  was  human,  after  all.  Surely  she  had  suc- 
ceeded !  His  tone,  too,  when  he  spoke,  was  different, 
was  gentler,  kinder. 

"  Lucille,"  he  said,  "  very  well.     Now  listen  to  me." 

She  moved  towards  him.  Her  bosom  was  rising  and 
falling  madly.  Her  lips  were  parted,  her  eyes  implored 
him,  her  fingers  sought  for  his  shoulders. 

"  I  don't  want  words,"  she  begged,  "  I  want  you." 

He  gripped  her  wrists  and  held  her  from  him  or  she 
would  have  been  in  his  arms. 

"  Lucille,"  he  continued,  "  thank  yourself  for  what 
comes.  You  have  awakened  the  brute  in  me  and  it  is 
the  brute  who  speaks.  What  do  you  expect  ?  To'  buy 
me,  a  slave?  To  make  me  complacent  with  your 
caresses?  Rubbish!  If  you  are  a  woman,  am  I  not 
a  man?  I've  chosen  my  mate  and  I  want  her." 

"  But  you  are  my  husband ! "  Lucille  called  out. 
"  You  are  my  husband !  " 

"  Much  good  may  it  do  you ! "  he  answered  fiercely. 
"  You  have  made  me  go  through  that  wretched  cere- 
mony. Do  you  feel  any  different?  Does  it  help  you? 
Do  you  feel  that  you  own  me  any  the  more?  Think  it 
over  —  you'll  have  time." 

He  turned  towards  the  door.  Her  eyes  were  full 
of  fear. 

"  Jermyn !  "  she  cried.  "  You're  not  going  to  leave 
me?" 

"What  else?"  he  demanded.     "Do  you  suppose  I 


264      THE    WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN 

am  going  honeymooning  with  you?  I  am  going  to 
find  Sybil  and  tell  her  the  truth.  She  shall  choose. 
She  shall  make  my  future  whatever  it  is  to  be,  not 
you." 

"You  wouldn't  dare!"  Lucille  muttered.  "To- 
day you  wouldn't  dare  to  go  to  her !  " 

Jermyn  took  no  notice.  Already  he  had  reached  the 
door.  He  did  not  even  look  back.  She  almost  flung 
herself  upon  him. 

"  Jermyn,"  she  pleaded,  "  be  merciful.  Consider 
what  will  happen  if  you  leave  me  like  this.  The  car- 
riage is  ordered  for  an  hour's  time.  Our  places  are 
taken  in  the  train  to  Folkestone.  You  can't  do  it! 
You  can't  make  me  the  laughing  stock  of  Europe ! 
You  may  be  cruel  but  you  can't  be  brutal  enough  for 
that !  Besides,  think  of  yourself  —  of  your  own  po- 
sition. Will  you  have  it  said  that  you  left  me  to  go 
to  her  to-day  ?  It's  too  hateful  to  think  of !  Stay 
where  you  are.  I  will  be  sensible,  only  wait.  I  must 
think  of  something." 

She  stood  with  her  hand  to  her  forehead.  He  looked 
at  her  steadfastly. 

"  What  is  it,  then,  that  you  propose  ?  "  he  asked. 
"  There  is  nothing  in  this  world  will  keep  me  from 
going  straight  to  Sybil  when  I  leave  this  hotel.  Every 
moment  I  hold  over  my  confession  is  a  moment  longer 
of  shame." 

"  Very  well,"  she  said,  "  I  do  not  keep  you.  Go  to 
her.  Tell  her  the  truth  —  the  whole  truth,  if  you 
will.  Don't  spare  me.  But,  Jermyn,  you  have  at 
least  the  instincts  —  forgive  the  bathos  of  the  word 
but  I  cannot  think  of  another  —  of  a  gentleman.  You 
won't  leave  me  to  be  made  fun  of  in  every  drawing- 


THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN      265 

room  of  the  world!  I  will  change  my  clothes  and  drive 
to  Victoria.  I  will  explain  that  you  are  to  meet  me 
there.  You  must  meet  me  there,  you  must  travel  to 
Folkestone  with  me.  On  the  way  we  can  talk.  If  I 
cannot  convince  you,  if  you  still  remain  as  you  are  now, 
then  let  us  separate  somehow  quietly.  But  I  won't 
be  left  like  this!" 

He  glanced  at  his  watch. 

"  It  is  now,"  he  declared,  "  a  quarter  to  four.  If 
I  am  able  to  find  Sybil,  I  will  be  at  Victoria  in  time 
to  catch  the  train.  My  luggage  shall  be  there.  I  will 
try  to  save  you  from  what  you  seem  to  fear  so  greatly. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  I  cannot  find  Sybil,  I  will  come 
to  the  station  but  I  shall  most  certainly  return,  for 
nothing  in  this  world  would  induce  me  to  leave  London 
until  I  have  seen  her." 

Lucille  half  closed  her  eyes  for  a  moment.  Once 
more  she  tried,  sadly,  almost  hopelessly,  to  win  a  kinder 
look  from  him.  She  raised  his  fingers  to  her  lips  and 
kissed  them. 

"  I  can't  say  any  more,  Jermyn,"  she  murmured. 
"  I  feel  rather  crushed.  It  must  be  as  you  decide. 
Will  you  go  and  tell  Florence  that  I  am  ready  for  her? 
Get  rid  of  Holland,  if  you  can,  or  take  him  with  you. 
I  couldn't  bear  any  one  with  us." 

Jermyn  did  as  he  was  bidden.  Then  he  hurried 
downstairs  to  where  his  car  was  waiting.  His  servant, 
who  was  standing  in  the  hall,  looked  at  him  in  some 
surprise. 

"You  won't  change  your  things,  sir?"  he  asked. 
"  Everything  is  put  out  here." 

"  Not  just  yet,"  Jermyn  replied.  "  I  shall  have  to 
travel  as  I  am.  There  is  something  I  must  see  to 


266      THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN 

first.  You  can  pack  up  my  dressing-case  and  send  it 
on  with  the  other  luggage." 

He  stepped  into  the  car  and  lifted  the  tube  to  his 
mouth. 

"  Burley  Court,"  he  told  the  man. 

They  moved  off.  Jermyn  drew  out  the  white  flower 
which  Lucille  had  pinned  in  his  buttonhole,  and  sat 
crushing  it  fiercely  in  his  hand. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

Sybil's  maid,  who  opened  the  door  to  him,  gazed  at 
this  unexpected  visitor  in  blank  amazement. 

"  I  must  see  your  mistress  at  once,"  he  announced. 
"  I  hope  she  is  in  ?  " 

"  Yes,  she  is  in,  Sir  Jermyn,"  the  maid  replied, 
doubtfully.  "  She  has  a  headache  and  was  lying  down. 
I  don't  know  —  I  suppose  she  will  see  you,  sir." 

Jermyn  stepped  into  the  hall  and  flung  the  silk  hat 
which  he  was  carrying,  on  to  the  little  hat-stand. 

"  Beg  her  to  come  to  me  as  soon  as  possible,"  he 
said.  "  Tell  her  that  it  is  most  important." 

He  made  his  way  into  the  sitting-room.  It  was 
neat  and  orderly  as  usual  and  filled  with  pretty,  inex- 
pensive yellow  flowers.  The  windows  were  open  and  a 
small  fire  was  burning  on  the  grate.  There  were  one 
or  two  letters,  unopened,  on  the  table  by  the  side  of 
the  chair  in  which  she  generally  sat.  He  walked  rest- 
lessly up  and  down  the  little  apartment.  His  brain 
was  in  a  complete  turmoil,  there  were  so  many  things 
which  still  were  puzzling  him.  If  Sybil  were  not  guilty, 
and  had  known  all  the  time  that  she  was  not  guilty, 
how  was  he  to  account  for  her  attitude,  the  terror  in 
her  face  and  eyes,  the  instinctive  manner  with  which 
she  had  accepted  the  story  of  his  sacrifice?  He  held 
his  forehead.  He  seemed  to  be  looking  out  upon  a 
blank  wall.  If  only  she  would  come !  He  kept  on  look- 


268      THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

ing  impatiently  toward  the  door.  It  seemed  to  him  that 
he  was  waiting  there  for  an  eternity.  It  was,  in  reality, 
less  than  five  minutes.  Then  for  a  moment  he  forgot 
everything  else  in  a  great  wave  of  shuddering  pity. 
She  had  been  crying,  crying  all  night.  Her  eyes  were 
red  and  swollen,  there  were  black  lines  under  them  which 
he  had  never  seen  before.  She  seemed  to  have  become 
paler  and  more  fragile.  He  took  a  step  towards  her 
and  held  out  his  arms. 

"  Before  I  speak,  Sybil,"  he  almost  sobbed,  "  for 
God's  sake,  kiss  me  1 " 

She  gave  a  little  wondering  cry.  He  kissed  her  eyes 
and  he  kissed  her  lips  tenderly. 

"  Little  woman,"  he  whispered,  "  you  have  been  suf- 
fering." 

"*But  I  don't  understand,"  she  gasped.  "  What 
are  you  doing  here?  The  wedding?  " 

He  led  her  to  the  easy-chair  and  knelt  by  her  side. 

"  Listen,  Sybil,"  he  began ;  "  answer  me  one  question 
or  I  shall  go  mad.  Who  did  you  suppose  had  killed 
Aynesworth  Lakenham?  " 

There  were  no  more  emotions  which  her  face  could 
show.  She  answered  him  quite  simply. 

"  Why,  you !  " 

"  My  God !  "  he  murmured.  "  Could  we  have  been 
such  children !  " 

"  Didn't  you  ?  "  she  suddenly  called  out,  sitting  up 
in  her  chair.  "  Tell  me,  Jermyn,  didn't  you  kill  him?  " 

"  No,"  he  answered,  "  I  didn't." 

"  Then  why,"  she  demanded  breathlessly,  "  did  you 
tell  me  that  you  were  marrying  Lucille  de  Sayers  be- 
cause she  knew?  " 

He  drew  a  little  breath  and  held  both  her  hands. 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      269 

"  Because,  while  the  police  were  in  the  avenue,  when 
there  were  only  a  few  moments  to  spare,  she  told  me 
secretly  that  she  knew  that  you  had  done  it  —  you, 
Sybil  —  that  she  had  seen  you !  I  believed  her !  When 
I  told  you  that  I  was  marrying  her  because  she  knew 
the  truth,  I  meant  that  I  was  marrying  her  not  to 
save  myself  but  to  seal  her  lips  about  you." 

Sybil's  hands  were  pressed  to  her  temples. 

"  I  can't  —  no,  I  can't  realize  it  all  yet,"  she  said. 
"  It  will  have  to  come  slowly.  But  tell  me  now  —  is 
there  anything  fresh,  then?  Who  did  kill  him?  " 

"  The  American  —  Norden  Smith !  He  came  to 
Annerley  to  kill  him;  he  came  to  Europe  for  no  other 
purpose.  He  has  killed  another  man  to-day  —  Aaron 
Chalmers.  They  were  lovers  of  his  wife." 

"  Norden  Smith !  "  she  whispered  hoarsely.  "  Why, 
he  didn't  come  till  afterwards." 

"  He  entered  the  billiard-room  by  the  windows  from 
the  garden,"  Jermyn  explained  quickly.  "  Then  he 
stole  out  again  and  rang  the  front  door  bell.  It  was 
absolutely  simple." 

"  And  I  thought  it  was  you !  "  she  gasped.  "  I  saw 
some  one  coming  outside  while  he  was  holding  me.  I 
thought  that  it  was  you!  I  ran  away  directly  he  let 
me  go.  I  thought  that  it  was  you  who  came  in  through 
the  window !  Why,  I  went  to  his  room  that  night  — 
it  was  horrible !  —  went  and  knocked  at  his  door  to  beg 
him  to  keep  silence.  I  shall  never  forget  that  awful 
night!  They  wouldn't  let  me  in." 

"  And  I  thought  you  went  for  yourself ! "  he  mur- 
mured. 

She  laughed  a  little  unsteadily. 

"  I'd  never  have  pleaded  for  my  own  life  from  him ! " 


270      THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

"  I  am  trying  to  think  all  the  .time  why  I  believed 
Lucille,"  Jermyn  went  on.  "  She  gave  me  the  pistol 
which  she  said  she  had  seen  in  your  hand.  Norden 
Smith  showed  me  little  fragments  of  your  white  satin 
dress,  which  were  scattered  upon  the  floor ;  showed  them 
to  me  secretly  because  he  said  they  might  be  used  as 
evidence  against  you.  He  was  honest  enough  there, 
but,  of  course,  it  all  seemed  to  point  to  the  same  thing. 
This  will  come  clearer  to  us  presently,  when  we  think 
over  our  conversations.  Just  now  I  can't  realize  it 
all.  I  can't  realize  hoyv  miserably  we  have  been  at 
cross-purposes." 

She  suddenly  sat  up  in  her  chair.  Her  face  grew 
lighter.  A  splendid  gleam  of  joy  lit  up  her  eyes. 

"  Jermyn,"  she  cried  rapturously,  "  you  didn't  kill 
him,  I  didn't  kill  him!  We  have  each  suffered  for  the 
other,  suffered  in  vain.  We  have  lived  through  all  this 
agony  for  nothing." 

"  And  we  have  lived  through  it,"  he  added,  "  twenty- 
four  hours  too  long !  " 

She  looked  at  him  without  comprehension  for  a  mo- 
ment. Then  she  glanced  at  his  clothes  and  drew  away. 
He  had  been  holding  her  in  his  arms. 

"  It  was  afterwards  ?  " 

"  It  was  at  the  reception,"  he  told  her.  "  All  Lon- 
don will  be  ringing  with  it  to-morrow.  The  daily  press 
hasn't  been  provided  with  such  a  sensation  for  many  a 
year.  Norden  Smith  was  at  the  reception,  lying  in 
wait  for  Chalmers.  There  was  a  man  named  Grayson, 
the  private  detective  whom  Gerald  Lakenham  had  em- 
ployed, who  was  on  his  track;  the  man  who  pretended 
he  was  watching  you  and  me.  He  was  on  to  Norden 
Smith  from  the  first.  He  had  finished  his  investiga- 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      271 

tions  and  gone  to  Scotland  Yard.  They  were  waiting 
to  arrest  him  outside.  Except  for  an  accident  he  would 
have  been  arrested  in  the  entrance  hall  of  the  hotel. 
He  happened  to  slip  by  them  so  they  had  to  follow  him 
into  the  reception  room.  He  shot  Aaron  Chalmers 
through  the  heart,  dead,  and  then  he  told  us  all  the 
truth." 

"  I  can't  realize  it,"  she  murmured.  "  It  seems  too 
wonderful.  This  happened  this  afternoon  at  your  re- 
ception? You  saw  it  done?  You  saw  this  man 
Chalmers  murdered?  " 

"  I  and  fifty  others,"  Jermyn  replied.  "  And  after 
it  was  over,  Norden  Smith  confessed.  He  came  to 
Annerley  for  no  other  purpose  but  to  kill  Aynesworth. 
He  passed  along  the  terrace,  saw  the  billiard-room 
windows  open,  saw  you  and  Aynesworth  struggling. 
Aynesworth  heard  him  coming  and  let  you  go.  You 
turned  and  fled,  thinking  it  was  I.  Then  he  shot 
Aynesworth,  went  calmly  out  of  the  window  again,  rang 
the  bell  at  the  front  door,  and  in  less  than  a  minute 
was  shown  into  the  bridge-room." 

Her  hand  was  still  clasping  her  head. 

"  I  am  getting  hold  of  it  by  degrees,"  she  said.  "  To 
think  that  I  have  had  this  weight  on  my  conscience 
all  the  time!  I  thought  that  you  had  seen  him  behav- 
ing like  a  brute  and  that  you  had  shot  him,  and  that 
the  quarrel  was  all  my  fault  because  I  had  not  told 
you  everything  at  once." 

"  And  I,"  he  echoed,  "  dared  to  think  that  you  had 
shot  him  sooner  than  have  him  tell  me  that  miserable 
story!  Give  me  your  hands,  dear.  Let  us  sit  quite 
quietly  for  a  few  minutes.  I  want  to  realize  things." 

Her  head  dropped  upon  his  shoulder.     He  held  both 


272      THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN 

her  hands  tightly.  She  breathed  a  deep  sigh  of  con- 
tent. Then,  after  a  time,  she  drew  a  little  away. 

"  The  Duchess !  "  she  faltered.  "  What  has  she  to 
say?" 

Jermyn's  face  hardened. 

"  I  have  spoken  with  her  alone,"  he  said.  "  She  was 
forced  to  admit  the  truth.  She  had  only  one  idea  — 
she  wanted  to  come  between  us.  It  was  just  a  chance 
and  she  took  it." 

"  She  cares  for  you,"  Sybil  declared.  "  I  knew  it 
always.  Tell  me  what  happened  after  the  tragedy?  " 

"  The  people  all  went  away.  I  took  Lucille  into 
an  anteroom.  I  forced  the  truth  from  her.  Then  I 
came  here." 

"  It  was  like  you  to  come  at  once,"  Sybil  murmured. 
"  Bless  you  for  it !  But  you  mustn't  stay,  must  you  ?  " 

She  glanced  at  the  clock.  Jermyn  remained  silent. 
His  arms  tightened  a  little  upon  hers. 

"  Sybil,"  he  said,  "  you  know  the  truth.  Do  you 
want  me  to  go?  Do  you  think  it  is  right  that  I  should 
leave  you  ?  " 

Sybil  shook  her  head. 

"  I  can't  think  about  it  at  all,  dear.  It  is  all  too 
complicated  and  extraordinary.  Only  you  must  not 
leave  her  alone  now." 

"  Very  soon,"  he  continued,  "  she  will  be  waiting  for 
me  at  Victoria  Station.  Whether  I  go  with  her  or  not 
rests  with  you.  Sybil, — " 

Her  hand  was  suddenly  pressed  upon  his  mouth. 
She  looked  at  him  and  smiled.  She  seemed,  indeed, 
to  have  grown  younger  and  more  childlike. 

"  Dear  Jermyn,"  she  said,  "  an  hour  ago  I  never 
dreamed  that  any  gleam  of  happiness  could  come  to 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      273 

me  to-day.  This  is  all  wonderful.  Exactly  how  life 
will  shape  itself  for  either  of  us  in  the  future,  I  do 
not  know  —  do  you  ?  But  there  isn't  any  doubt  about 
one  thing;  you  must  go  away  now,  you  must  go  to 
her—" 

"  The  ceremony  was  a  trick ! "  he  interrupted. 

"  Never  mind,"  she  answered.  "  She  could  only 
have  done  it  for  one  thing,  you  know  —  because  she 
cared.  Besides,  she  bears  your  name  now.  Whatever 
you  may  decide  that  you  do  not  owe  her,  you  do  at 
least  owe  her  the  protection  of  your  presence  and  name. 
You  cannot  leave  her  there.  You  must  go  away  with 
her  just  as  you  had  arranged.  For  the  rest,  just  yet, 
I  cannot  think  —  I  cannot  think." 

"  If  I  go,"  he  cried  harshly,  "  you  can't  believe  that 
I  go  save  in  one  way  only?  " 

She  closed  her  eyes. 

"  I  can't  think  it  all  out,  Jermyn  dear,"  she  went  on. 
"  Just  at  first  I  know  that  you  will  feel  like  that.  I 
am  so  thankful,  so  very  thankful  that  you  and  I  are 
a  little  different  from  other  people.  We  have  fought 
our  fight,  haven't  we,  and  come  to  our  own.  What- 
ever happens,  I  shall  never  be  altogether  deprived  of 
your  companionship.  I  know  that.  You  will  have 
your  work.  You  and  I  will  often  see  it  grow  together. 
I  shall  always  hope  that  I  may  help.  But  my  place, 
Jermyn,  is  very  clearly  defined,  isn't  it?  There  isn't 
anything  in  this  world  now  can  alter  that." 

He  rose  slowly  to  his  feet. 

"  Ah,  no,"  she  begged,  stretching  out  her  hands  to 
him,  "  don't  look  like  that !  It  is  only  a  little  part  of 
you  that  feels  bitter  and  reproachful.  You  know  your- 
self that  when  we  are  happiest,  you  and  I,  we  are  walk- 


274      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

ing  hand  in  hand  in  the  fairy  places,  and  we  can't  take 
the  things  there  that  don't  belong.  You  know  it  so  well, 
dear.  The  other  things  —  oh,  they  are  very  sweet  and 
very  overmastering,  and  they  tempt  —  yes,  they  tempt 
all  the  time,  but  you  and  I  are  brave.  You  will  help 
me  and  I  shall  help  you.  Kiss  me,  Jermyn." 

She  gave  him  her  lips.  He  kissed  her  tenderly, 
kissed  her  eyes,  kissed  her  hands.  Still  he  remained 
silent.  She  passed  her  arm  through  his  and  led  him  to 
the  door. 

"  Dear,"  she  whispered,  "  there  are  many  sorts  of 
happiness  in  the  world.  For  the  last  few  hours,  I  will 
admit  that  I  have  been  suffering  all  the  miseries  of  a 
jealous,  tortured  woman.  Now  you  are  going  away, 
and  you  are  going  away  with  your  wife,  and  I  am  feel- 
ing happier  and  lighter-hearted  than  I  have  felt  for 
weeks  and  weeks.  There's  lots  in  life  yet.  You'll  write 
me,  won't  you?  And  you  won't  forget  Mary?  The 
best  of  voyages  to  you,  Jermyn;  and,  dear,  good-by! 
God  bless  you !  " 

She  closed  the  door  just  a  little  abruptly.  Jermyn 
made  his  way  down  to  his  car  and  drove  to  Victoria. 
In  front  of  the  book-stall  Lucille  was  standing,  with 
her  maid  and  Lady  Florence  by  her  side.  Holland 
came  bustling  up  with  the  tickets. 

"  Everything's  all  right,"  he  declared.  "  Luggage 
all  in,  reserved  carriage,  and  servants  close  to.  Come 
along." 

Lucille  passed  a  handful  of  magazines  to  Jermyn. 

*'  Please  pay  for  these,"  she  said. 

Her  tone  was  quite  matter-of-fact,  but  her  hand  was 
shaking  violently.  She  raised  her  veil  for  a  moment 
as  they  walked  out  on  to  the  platform.  Lady  Flor- 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      275 

ence  was  anxious  and  whispered  in  her  ear,  but  she  only 
shook  her  head. 

"  I  felt  just  a  little  faint,"  she  admitted.  "  Jermyn 
came  round  the  corner  rather  suddenly.  It  has  been 
such  an  extraordinary  afternoon,  hasn't  it?  Is  this 
our  carriage?  " 

Jermyn  handed  her  in.  The  guard  himself  was 
standing  at  the  door ;  a  reporter  was  making  notes  at  a 
little  distance ;  a  photographer  took  a  snapshot  of  them. 
Jermyn  looked  out  at  it  all,  unmoved.  He  had  shaken 
hands  with  Lady  Florence  and  Holland  and  was 
standing  now  behind  Lucille,  who  held  both  her  hands 
out  of  the  window. 

"  You'll  write  to  us,  dear?  " 

"  The  best  of  luck,  old  chap !  " 

Lucille  threw  kisses  and  waved  her  handkerchief  as 
the  train  glided  away.  Then  she  sat  back  in  her  place. 
Jermyn  had  already  taken  the  opposite  seat.  Her 
eyes  glowed  at  him;  her  lips  quivered  with  eagerness. 

"  You  are  coming !  " 

He  looked  at  her  without  the  slightest  change  of  ex- 
pression. The  fierce  inquiry  of  her  eyes  remained  un- 
answered. 

"  I  am  coming,"  he  replied,  taking  up  one  of  the 
magazines,  "  to  give  you  the  protection  of  my  name." 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

"  '  Love  is  the  one  force  in  the  world  which  remains 
eternal  without  any  sustenance  save  hope,  which  lives 
and  grows  and  flourishes  without  culture  or  care.  It 
is  the  rarest  flower  in  life,  and  when  you  have  found  it 
you  have  solved  all  the  mysteries.' ' 

It  was  almost  her  last  speech.  As  she  came  to  the 
front  of  the  stage,  carried  away  though  she  was  by  her 
part,  she  was  yet  acutely  conscious  of  that  little  note 
from  him  which  reposed  in  the  bosom  of  her  gown.  A 
few  moments  later  the  curtain  fell,  fell  as  it  had  done 
every  night  for  the  last  two  months,  to  the  accompani- 
ment of  loud  applause.  In  the  shadows  of  his  box 
Jermyn  stood  quite  motionless.  Lucille  was  arrang- 
ing her  scarf  before  the  mirror.  She  was  purposely 
looking  away. 

"  You  wouldn't  care  to  come  to  the  Carlton,  I  sup- 
pose? "  she  inquired,  as  they  stood  waiting  for  their 
car.  "  Florence  is  going  to  be  there,  and  the  Lind- 
says. I  said  that  we  might  turn  up  if  you  had  no  en- 
gagements." 

"  I  am  sorry,"  he  replied.  "  I  cannot  come  to- 
night." 

She  made  no  remark.  Only  when  he  had  handed 
her  into  the  car  she  looked  at  him  for  a  moment  out  of 
her  great  eyes,  hollower  now  than  a  few  months  ago. 

"  You  are  not  coming  home?  " 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      277 

"  Not  at  present,"  he  answered,  raising  his  hat. 

He  walked  round  to  the  stage  door,  once  a  familiar 
enough  path.  The  doorkeeper  welcomed  him  cordially. 
He  passed  on  the  familiar  way  behind  and  knocked  at 
the  door  of  the  manager's  room.  Mr.  Levenden  was 
overjoyed  to  see  him. 

"  My  dear  Sir  Jermyn,"  he  exclaimed,  "  this  is  a 
pleasure!  At  last  you  have  seen  your  own  play, 
then ! " 

"  To-night  for  the  first  time,"  Jermyn  replied.  "  I 
only  returned  this  afternoon." 

"  You  know  that  it's  the  success  of  the  season,  of 
course?"  the  manager  continued.  "You've  read  all 
about  that  and  you've  had  our  letters.  Miss  Cluley  has 
surpassed  herself.  She  is  simply  wonderful.  To 
judge  from  the  bookings,  I  should  say  that  we  were 
good  for  another  year." 

"  I  am  hoping  to  see  Miss  Cluley,"  Jermyn  remarked. 

The  manager  nodded. 

"  You  know  her  room,"  he  said.  "  Perhaps  I  had 
better  just  let  her  know  that  you  are  here." 

She  came  to  them  a  few  minutes  later.  She  had 
really  grown  a  little  paler  and  a  little  thinner  during 
these  last  months,  but  Jermyn  saw  no  change.  Their 
words  of  greeting  were  simple  enough.  Even  the  man- 
ager, who  was  watching,  saw  nothing  unusual  in  them. 

"  More  wonderful,  even,  than  I  had  dared  to  hope ! " 
Jermyn  declared,  as  he  bent  over  her  hands.  "  You 
have  given  my  *  Nora '  life.  When  she  spoke  to  me 
to-night  across  the  footlights,  I  seemed  to  be  back  once 
more  in  my  study,  my  pen  in  my  hand,  wondering 
whether  I  could  ever  collect  into  a  harmonious  whole 
those  fugitive  thoughts.  To-night  I  am  very  humble. 


278      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

I  am  driven  to  the  conclusion  that  the  interpreter's  art 
must  come  first." 

"  You  have  not  traveled  abroad  for  nothing,  Sir 
Jermyn,"  she  laughed.  "  You  have  learned  the  art  of 
making  honeyed  speeches." 

They  wished  Mr.  Levenden  good-night  and  turned 
as  though  by  mutual  consent  towards  the  door. 

"  You  have  a  car?  "  he  asked. 

She  shook  her  head. 

"  Economical  as  ever,"  she  confessed.  "  Taxies  are 
so  cheap  and  so  easy  to  get.  The  same  one  comes  for 
me  every  night.  You  see,  he  is  waiting  there  now. 
Take  me  out  to  supper,  won't  you,  to  some  place  that's 
quiet  where  we  can  sit  and  talk?  I  don't  feel  inclined 
to  go  home  just  yet." 

He  gave  the  chauffeur  a  direction  and  stepped  in  by 
her  side. 

"  It  was  nice  of  you  to  let  me  know  that  you  were 
coming,"  she  said.  "  I  was  really  glad." 

"  You  like  your  part  ?  You  still  find  pleasure  in 
it?  " 

"  I  find  the  greatest  pleasure  of  my  life  in  it,"  she 
replied  swiftly.  "  Sometimes  in  the  daytime,  when  I 
haven't  heard  from  Mary,  the  hours  seem  so  long  and 
I  sit  and  think  and  shiver.  And  then  the  evening 
comes  and  I  forget  that  I  am  myself  at  all.  I  become 
Nora,  and  when  I  am  Nora  I  am  glad,  because  you 
made  her  and  because  she  is  wonderful." 

"  And  how  do  you  suppose,"  he  asked,  a  little  bit- 
terly, "  things  have  gone  with  a  poor  ordinary  person 
who  has  no  other  self  into  which  he  can  escape?  " 

She  smiled  at  him  delightfully;  she  let  her  hand  fall 
on  his. 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      279 

"  Ah !  "  she  murmured,  "  that  is  not  true.  You  have 
the  whole  world  of  your  thoughts,  a  whole  garden  of 
beautiful  fancies  into  which  you  can  pass  whenever  you 
will." 

"  The  garden  is  haunted,"  he  answered,  a  little 
hoarsely.  "  Always  I  seem  to  look  for  a  little  seat 
among  the  roses,  and  the  seat  is  always  empty." 

"  Foolish !  "  she  whispered. 

The  cab  drew  up  with  a  little  jerk.  He  handed  her 
out.  They  passed  into  the  grill-room  of  a  fashionable 
restaurant,  as  yet  only  half  full.  There  was  no  music 
and  the  lights  were  not  brilliant.  They  chose  a  table 
near  the  wall  and  Jermyn  gave  an  order  to  the  maitre 
d'hotel,  who  recognized  him  with  pleasure. 

"  Tell  me  about  yourself?  "  she  begged  simply. 

"  I  have  had  a  hard  time,"  he  replied.  "  There  is 
little  more  than  that,  that  I  can  tell  you.  I  have 
visited  many  beautiful  places,  some  which  were  new  to 
me  and  others  which  I  have  been  longing  to  revisit. 
I  have  tried  to  school  myself  into  an  appreciative  frame 
of  mind.  I  have  found  it  hard.  Every  day  I  have 
thought  '  To-morrow  will  be  easier,'  and  when  to-mor- 
row came  I  was  always  disappointed.  Sybil,  it  is  dif- 
ficult indeed  to  live  when  the  whole  flavor  of  life  has 
gone  from  the  cup." 

She  closed  her  eyes  for  a  moment. 

"  But  you  are  back  again,"  she  said  softly.  "  I 
think  that  your  going  away  for  so  long  was  a  mistake. 
In  my  heart  I  feel  that  it  was  a  mistake.  So  little 
makes  such  a  difference.  Just  to  have  you  sit  here  with 
me  and  talk  is  such  a  joy.  Are  you  staying  in  London, 
Jermyn  ?  " 

"  For  some  months,  at  any  rate." 


280      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

"  I  don't  think  that  you  must  go  so  far  away  again," 
she  went  on.  "  I  can  give  up  much  but  I  need  just  a 
little.  I  need  your  friendship,  Jermyn.  I  am  so 
lonely  all  my  days." 

"  You  have  no  new  friends,  then  ?  " 

"  None,"  she  answered,  shaking  her  head  a  little 
sorrowfully.  "  I  do  not  think  that  any  other  person  in 
the  world  can  be  so  utterly  alone  as  I  am.  It  is  my 
own  fault,  I  suppose, —  a  kink  in  my  tastes.  When  I 
am  off  the  stage,  I  am  in  the  wrong  place.  I  do  not 
care  for  supper-parties  and  motor-car  rides  and  river 
picnics,  with  just  the  usual  crowd  of  theatrical  friends 
and  their  friends  and  their  friends'  friends.  They  all 
seem  to  expect  just  the  same  things  out  of  life,  to  en- 
joy themselves  in  the  same  manner.  I  hate  it  all, 
Jermyn.  Sometimes  I  think  that  I  should  like  to  have 
a  few  dull,  stupid,  middle-class  friends,  who  would  ask 
me  now  and  then  to  go  and  see  them  and  talk  silly 
commonplaces  about  the  stage.  I  should  like  anything 
rather  than  —  Oh,  I  am  silly  to  talk  like  this !  "  she 
broke  off. 

"  You  are  not  silly  at  all,"  he  assured  her.  "  Don't 
you  think  that  I  can  appreciate  what  you  mean  ?  " 

"  People  mean  to  be  kind,  I  suppose,"  she  continued, 
"  and  I  suppose  it's  our  own  fault  but  there  does  seem 
to  be  something  about  our  profession  which  doesn't  in- 
spire respect.  The  men  all  talk  to  us  in  the  same  way 
and  I  don't  like  it.  The  worst  sort  of  them  jostle  up 
against  one  another  in  their  eagerness  to  get  to  know 
us,  and  the  best  never  come  near,  or  if  they  do,  they 
just  pass  on." 

"  We  must  try  and  alter  that,"  Jermyn  declared. 

She  shook  her  head. 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      281 

"  My  dear,"  she  said,  "  I  am  going  to  have  you  and 
I  don't  want  any  one  else.  You  must  tell  me  now  about 
—  your  wife." 

"  There  is  so  little  to  tell,"  he  answered.  "  I  have 
shown  her  all  the  consideration  I  have  found  it  possible 
to  show  her  and  remain  honest.  She  gives  way  at 
times  to  violent  fits  of  temper,  she  broods  a  great  deal, 
she  reads  and  thinks  too  much,  smokes  too  much,  sits 
up  too  late.  Her  whole  manner  of  life  is  scarcely  a 
healthy  one." 

Sybil  raised  her  veil.  Her  large,  soft  eyes  were 
fixed  upon  his.  Her  cheeks  were  more  than  usually 
colorless,  almost  transparent,  but  her  delicacy  seemed, 
if  possible,  only  to  increase  the  beauty  of  her  fea- 
tures. 

"  Have  you  had  any  further  explanation  ? "  she 
asked. 

"  We  have  had  several  —  shall  I  call  them  crises  ?  " 
he  replied.  "  So  far  as  I  am  concerned,  there  is  noth- 
ing more  to  explain.  I  have  never  changed,  I  never 
shall  change.  She  is  beginning  to  know  it." 

"  She  looks  thinner,"  Sybil  remarked. 

"  She  is  a  very  passionate  woman  and  she  does  her- 
self harm  by  giving  way,"  Jermyn  said  quietly.  "  I 
think  myself  that  under  present  conditions  we  should 
be  much  better  apart.  I  proposed  it  to  her,  but  just 
at  present  she  is  unwilling." 

Sybil  sighed. 

"  It  is  so  difficult,"  she  murmured.  "  I  suppose  if 
I  were  really  a  nice  person,  and  my  disposition  were 
altogether  good,  I  should  try  and  make  you  believe 
that  there  was  no  changing  the  order  of  things ;  that  she 
was  your  wife,  and  that,  however  she  became  your  wife, 


282      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

her  claim  was  the  same.  What  should  you  say  to  me 
then,  Jermyn?  " 

"  I  should  promptly  argue  with  you,"  he  answered, 
"  and  I  hate  arguments." 

"  It  would  all  be  so  simple,  in  a  way,"  Sybil  went 
on,  "  if  only  she  did  not  care.  She  does  care  for  you, 
Jermyn." 

"  I  am  hoping,"  he  replied,  "  that  it  will  pass." 

"  Women  are  less  liable  to  that  sort  of  thing  than 
men,"  she  told  him.  "  The  woman  who  really  cares  so 
seldom  changes." 

With  a  little  gesture  he  dismissed  the  subject. 

"  For  my  part,"  he  declared,  "  I  want  to  drop  the 
burden  of  these  last  few  weary  months.  I  am  going 
to  remember  only  that  we  are  together  again." 

"  If  you  only  knew  what  it  meant  to  me !  "  she  said. 
"  Since  you  left  England  I  have  not  once  been  out  to 
supper  after  the  theatre,  I  have  neither  lunched  nor 
dined  out  with  any  man.  I  am  not  sure  now  that  it 
was  not  a  mistake.  People  will  say  all  sorts  of  things." 

"  What  does  it  matter?  We  are  sure  of  ourselves. 
That  is  enough." 

"  It  isn't  for  myself,"  she  sighed,  "  that  I  care  one 
little  bit.  You  know  that.  However,  we  are  coming 
much  too  near  the  earth  again  when  we  talk  about  these 
silly  problems.  Am  I  really  going  to  drink  cham- 
pagne? I  have  forgotten  what  it  tastes  like.  I  am 
going  to  wish  you  all  sorts  of  things." 

Gerald  Lakenham  strolled  by,  a  few  minutes  later, 
with  several  other  immaculately  dressed  young  men. 
He  stopped  short  when  he  saw  Jermyn. 

"  Back  again,  sir? "  he  remarked,  holding  out  his 
hand. 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      283 

Jermyn  nodded.  He  was  glancing  at  the  little 
company  of  musical  comedy  young  ladies  to  whom 
Lakenham's  companions  were  making  their  way. 

"  I  got  back  this   afternoon." 

"  Had  a  good  time  ?  " 

"  Very,  thank  you." 

"  My  man  Grayson  wasn't  such  a  fool,  after  all,  was 
he?  "  Gerald  continued. 

"  He  was  unnecessarily  secretive,"  Jermyn  answered 
dryly.  "  If  he  had  treated  us  with  a  little  more  con- 
fidence, one  could  have  appreciated  his  efforts  more." 

Gerald  hesitated  for  a  moment. 

"  If  it  isn't  taking  a  liberty,"  he  ventured,  "  I  have 
known  Miss  Cluley  so  long  by  sight  —  it  would  be  such 
an  honor  if  I  might  be  presented." 

Jermyn  introduced  him.  The  boy  bent  over  Sybil 
with  admiration  written  in  his  face. 

"  Always  hoped  to  have  this  pleasure,  Miss  Cluley," 
he  declared,  "  but,  you  know,  you're  the  sort  of  mys- 
terious lady  of  the  stage.  One  never  sees  you  any- 
where, or  hears  of  you,  and  lately  you  seem  to  manage, 
somehow,  even  to  keep  your  photographs  out  of  the 
paper." 

"  You  know,'*  she  laughed,  "  there  is  no  such  ef- 
fectual advertisement  as  self-effacement." 

"  But  you,"  he  replied,  "  are  the  one  person  in  the 
world  who  needs  no  advertisement  of  any  sort.  I  am 
simply  delighted  to  be  able  to  say  that  I  have  met  you 
at  last,  Miss  Cluley,"  he  added.  "  I  am  going  to  tell 
the  other  fellows  and  you'll  see  how  jealous  they'll 
be!" 

She  looked  across  the  room  and  up  at  him  with 
twinkling  eyes. 


284      THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN 

"  I  think  that  your  friends  are  amusing  themselves 
far  too  well  for  any  sensations  of  that  sort,"  she  as- 
sured him. 

He  laughed  a  little  self-consciously. 

"  They  are  only  boys,  after  all,"  he  said,  fingering 
his  tie.  "  Good  night,  Jermyn !  Good  night,  Miss 
Cluley !  " 

He  passed  on.  Jermyn  watched  him  with  a  slight 
frown. 

"  I  am  convinced  that  it  is  the  beginning,"  Sybil  re- 
marked, "  of  my  downward  course.  I  feel  that  I  have 
been  introduced  to  a  really  dangerous  man-about-town. 
What  a  pity  that  these  nice  boys  do  such  silly  things !  " 

Jermyn  was  thoughtful  for  a  time.  He  glanced 
around  the  place  and  the  atmosphere  of  it  seemed  some- 
how to  depress  him. 

"  Sybil,"  he  went  on  suddenly,  "  tell  me,  is  there  any 
real  change,  is  there  anything  really  and  entirely  dif- 
ferent between  us,  because  —  because  I  am  married  ?  " 

"  Why   should   there   be  ?  "   she   asked,   wonderingly. 

"  I  don't  know,"  he  replied.  "  I  don't  even  know 
whether  I  ought  to  ask  you  to  have  supper  with  me 
here  alone.  Look  at  all  these  people.  They  all  have 
their  little  arrangements.  One  knows  of  them.  In 
your  profession  it  has  become  the  custom  to  recognize 
them,  to  regard  them  as  inevitable.  Will  they  dare  to 
look  at  you  and  remark  that  you  are  having  supper  with 
a  married  man,  I  wonder?  " 

"  You  silly  person,  of  course  they  will ! "  she 
laughed.  "  They  have  been  waiting  too  long  to  have 
something  to  say  about  me,  to  miss  this.  And  what 
does  it  matter?  Are  you  a  shade  the  better  or  the 
worse  for  what  people  say  about  you?" 


THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN      285 

"  Somehow  or  other,"  he  confessed,  "  I  always  have 
the  feeling  that  one  is." 

"  It's  quite  a  new  theory,"  she  sighed.  "  What  do 
you  propose  doing  about  it  ?  Neglecting  me  ?  " 

"  Never !  " 

"  Then  don't  be  foolish,"  she  begged.  "  Be  thank- 
ful that  I  am  a  sensible  person  and  that  our  friendship 
is  a  sensible  and  reasonable  thing.  If  other  people 
misunderstand  it,  why  should  I  care?  It  is  a  small 
price  which  we  must  pay  for  a  great  joy.  If  it  were 
not  for  Mary's  sake,  it  would  even  amuse  me." 

Mr.  Levenden  passed  them  with  a  knowing  smile  and 
bow.  Some  other  of  Jermyn's  acquaintances  would 
have  gone  by  without  recognition,  if  Jermyn  had  not 
forced  it.  He  rose  to  his  feet  when  the  time  came  to 
go,  a  little  impatiently,  yet  a  glance  from  her,  as  he 
arranged  her  coat,  soothed  him  again. 

"  To  see  you  and  be  with  you  again,  Sybil,"  he 
whispered,  as  they  went  out,  "  is  more  wonderful,  even, 
than  I  had  hoped.  I  feel  so  much  younger,  life  seems 
to  have  become  more  elastic,  more  possible.  If  only 
we  could  escape  from  this ! " 

He  waved  his  hand  back  at  the  small  tables  with  the 
rose-shaded  lights,  the  murmur  of  soft  laughter,  the 
generally  voluptuous  air.  Their  little  environment, 
pleasant  enough  in  its  way,  grated  upon  him  for  her 
sake.  She  laughed  at  him  bravely. 

"  Jermyn,"  she  murmured,  "  so  long  as  you  are  with 
me,  so  long  as  I  can  feel  for  an  hour  or  so  .most  days 
that  we  can  sit  and  talk  together,  and  that  I  can  come 
to  you  and  tell  you  my  thoughts  and  beg  for  your  help 
when  I  am  low-spirited  and  miserable,  then  I  simply 
don't  care  about  anything  else  in  the  world.  You  must 


286      THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN 

try  and  feel  like  that,  dear,  too.  It  is  the  only  way. 
Try  and  remember  always  just  what  I  have  told  you, 
how  much  it  means  to  me,  how  little  I  care  about  the 
other  things." 

He  passed  her  arm  through  his  and  they  crossed  the 
pavement  to  the  taxicab. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 

The  splendor  of  an  early  spring  had  added  sunshine 
to  the  other  glories  of  a  prolonged  London  season. 
While  the  east  end  was  feverishly  excited  over  the  fi- 
nancial inaptitudes  of  a  radical  government,  the  west 
blossomed  out  in  a  glory  of  crocuses  and  hyacinths, 
whose  faint,  promising  odor  seemed  to  hold  all  Mayfair 
under  its  spell. 

Lady  Annerley,  as  she  chose  now  to  be  called,  re- 
ceived her  friends  in  a  house  in  Berkeley  Square  which 
had  been  rented  for  twelve  months.  She  gave  two  din- 
ner-parties and  a  dance,  at  all  of  which  functions 
Jermyn  played  the  part  of  host  perfectly  and  life- 
lessly. It  was  when  the  cards  were  being  sent  out  to 
her  last  entertainment,  a  reception  which  included  her 
more  Bohemian  friends,  that  Lucille  at  last  approached 
the  subject  which  had  never  yet  been  discussed  between 
them. 

"  I  have  looked  through  your  list,  Jermyn,"  she  re- 
marked. "  I  will  send  cards  to  every  one,  of  course. 
But  what  about  Miss  Sybil  Cluley?" 

Jermyn  looked  across  the  table  at  his  wife. 

"  Miss  Cluley's  name  was  not  upon  my  list,"  he  re- 
plied. 

"So  I  noticed,"  Lucille  said.  "Why  not?  She  is 
asked,  I  presume,  to  a  good  many  such  gatherings,  and 
your  professional  connection  with  her  would  seem  to 
entitle  her  to  a  card  from  me." 


288      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

"  There  is  no  question,"  Jermyn  asserted  coldly,  "  of 
her  being  entitled  to  an  invitation.  I  do  not,  however, 
choose  to  ask  you  to  receive  Miss  Cluley  here  as  a 
guest." 

Lucille  laid  down  her  pen  and  turned  slowly  round. 
Jermyn,  except  for  his  hat,  was  dressed  for  the  street. 
He  had  been,  in  fact,  on  his  way  to  the  door  when  he 
had  paused  to  answer  his  wife's  last  question. 

"What  does  that  mean  exactly,  Jermyn?"  she 
asked. 

"  It  means,"  he  answered  calmly,  "  that  I  do  not 
desire  to  bring  the  woman,  the  only  woman  whom  I 
have  ever  cared  to  think  of  as  my  wife,  into  my  house 
on  the  invitation  of  one  who  has  usurped  her  position 
by  a  trick." 

Lucille  sat  quite  still  for  a  minute. 

"  You  are  very  explicit,"  she  murmured. 

"  I  am  anxious  that  there  should  be  no  misunder- 
standing." 

"  By  a  trick,"  she  repeated  softly  to  herself.  "  Yes, 
I  suppose  that  is  what  it  was.  Do  you  think  I  have 
gained  much  by  it,  Jermyn?  " 

"  You  have  gained  all  that  you  had  a  right  to  ex- 
pect," he  declared. 

"  All  that  I  had  a  right  to  expect !  I  wonder !  You 
give  me,  then,  Jermyn,  do  you,  all  that  a  woman  has  a 
right  to  expect  from  her  husband?  " 

"  Most  assuredly  I  do  not,"  he  admitted.  "  On  the 
other  hand,  most  marriages  are  arranged  differently. 
In  most  marriages  the  man  has  something  to  say." 

She  looked  at  him  across  the  room,  silently,  almost 
hopelessly.  She  had  tried  everything,  all  the  arts  her 
woman's  wit  could  devise,  and  she  was  a  woman  who 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      289 

knew  all  those  arts  and  was  well-practiced  in  them. 
And  there  was  nothing  else,  nothing  further  she  could 
do.  She  sat  there,  very  slim  and  elegant,  beautiful  in 
her  plain,  tightly  fitting  gown,  beautiful  in  a  manner 
entirely  of  her  own;  beautiful  though  her  cheeks  were 
thinner  and  her  eyes  a  little  sunken. 

"  You  are  hard,  Jermyn,"  she  said. 

"  I  am  what  circumstances  have  made  me,"  he  re- 
plied. "  I  lived  for  a  good  many  years  without 
thought  of  marriage,  without  care  for  your  sex.  Then 
there  came  a  time  when,  as  I  suppose  you  would  put 
it,  I  fell  in  love.  No  doubt  I  had  it  all  the  worse  be- 
cause it  wasn't  an  every-day  occurrence  with  me. 
What  I  felt  for  Sybil  Cluley  in  those  days,  I  feel  now 
and  shall  feel  forever.  Is  not  this  sufficient  answer 
when  you  speak  of  my  attitude  towards  you?  " 

She  shivered  a  little  and  turned  back  to  her  writing. 

"  It  is  a  sufficient  answer,"  she  assented.  ..." 

That  night  there  were  many  people  who  made  re- 
marks about  Lucille.  She  and  Jermyn  were  present  at 
a  dinner-party  given  by  the  Duchess  of  Rochester,  who 
was  a  very  great  person  indeed.  Lucille  wore  black, 
a  wonderful  and  rather  daring  dress,  against  which  the 
pallor  of  her  cheeks  and  the  scarlet  of  her  lips  seemed 
curiously  emphasized.  Lady  Florence  could  not  make 
up  her  mind  about  her  friend. 

"  I  cannot  feel  altogether  satisfied,"  she  told  her 
neighbor  at  dinner,  "  about  Lucille.  Is  she  improved 
by  her  marriage  or  isn't  she  ?  Is  she  marvelously  happy 
or  desperately  miserable?  Look  at  her.  To  me  she 
seems  more  beautiful  than  ever  before  in  her  life,  and 
yet  there  is  something  I  don't  like." 

Her  neighbor  happened  to  be  Sir  James  Bondman, 


2go      THE   WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

Lucille's  own  physician.  He  glanced  across  at  her 
critically. 

"  To  me,"  he  remarked,  "  she  looks  as  though  she 
had  had  some  sort  of  a  shock.  Wasn't  there  a  ter- 
rible tragedy  at  her  wedding  reception?  Of  course 
there  was.  I  so  seldom  read  the  papers  or  I  should 
not  have  had  to  ask  the  question,"  he  continued, 
apologetically.  "  There  was  an  American,  wasn't 
there,  who  shot  poor  Chalmers  right  before  her  face 
and  then  confessed  to  that  queer  murder  of  Lakenham. 
Found  dead  in  his  cell  the  very  morning  he  was  to  be 
brought  up  for  trial?  " 

"  Yes,"  Lady  Florence  agreed.  "  I  suppose  that 
was  enough  to  shatter  any  one's  nerves.  It  was  a  ter- 
rible start  for  their  wedding  journey.  Yet,  somehow 
or  other,  Lucille  is  just  the  one  woman  who  I  should 
have  thought  would  have  been  able  to  stand  it.  She 
always  seemed  to  me  as  though  she  had  nerves  of  steel. 
She  can  look  on  at  suffering,  horrible  suffering,  too, 
without  flinching,  and  she  bears  pain,  when  it  is 
inevitable,  with  utter  indifference.  Something  has 
happened  more  than  that,  I  think." 

"  So  far  as  her  appearance  goes,  I  can  only  make 
one  remark,"  the  physician  declared.  "  I  have  known 
her  intimately  all  her  life.  I  have  always  considered 
her  attractive,  but  I  must  confess  that  she  has  never 
made  the  impression  upon  me  that  she  makes  at  this 
moment.  This  evening  I  consider  her  the  most  indi- 
vidual and  the  most  strikingly  beautiful  woman  in  the 
room  —  with  the  one  nameless  and  inevitable  excep- 
tion," he  added,  with  a  little  bow. 

Lady  Florence  nodded. 

"  I  see  what  you  mean,"  she  admitted.     "  But  tell 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      291 

me,  from  what  does  this  new  attractiveness  come? 
Something,  I  believe,  has  happened  upon  which  Lucille 
hadn't  counted.  Her  mouth  and  eyes  have  altered.  I 
don't  believe  she  could  stroll  through  the  accident  ward 
of  a  hospital  now  as  I  have  seen  her  do  a  year  or  two 
ago." 

Sir  James  sighed. 

"  If  I  have  an  opportunity,"  he  said,  "  I  shall  talk 
to  her  this  evening,  after  dinner." 

Jermyn  escorted  his  wife  home  that  night  after  the 
dinner-party.  Contrary  to  his  custom,  he  entered  the 
house  with  her,  although  he  turned  at  once  towards  his 
study. 

"  You  are  not  going  to  the  club,  then  ?  "  she  inquired. 

"  Not  to-night,"  he  replied.  "  I  have  a  little  work 
to  do  here." 

She  followed  him,  after  a  moment's  hesitation,  into 
his  study.  He  went  over  to  his  desk.  Then,  glancing 
around,  he  saw  her  in  the  room.  His  eyebrows  were 
slightly  lifted. 

"  You  will  excuse  me,"  he  remarked,  drawing  some 
proof  sheets  towards  him. 

"Jermyn!" 

He  turned  round  once  more,  this  time  a  little 
startled.  Her  cry  had  rung  out,  shrill  and  vibrant  — 
the  cry  of  a  woman  in  torture.  She  stood  looking  at 
him  from  back  among  the  shadows  of  the  room,  which 
was  lit  only  by  the  green-shaded  lamp  upon  his  desk. 
There  was  something  spectral  about  her  appearance. 

"Well?" 

His  monosyllable  seemed  only  to  lash  the  passion 
which  she  barely  kept  in  check. 

"  Jermyn,"  she  cried,   "  you  are  treating  me  hate- 


292      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

fully,  hideously !  You  are  torturing  me !  My  God, 
haven't  you  any  heart  at  all?  Are  you  going  to  keep 
me  suffering  like  this  until  the  end  ?  " 

"  Why  should  you  suffer?  "  he  asked  calmly. 

"  Why  should  I  suffer ! "  she  repeated.  "  Don't 
turn  away.  Sit  as  you're  sitting  now.  Look  at  me. 
We've  known  one  another  for  a  good  many  years.  Do 
you  think  that  it  was  for  nothing  I  lied?  Do  you 
think  that  it  was  for  nothing  that  I  told  you  that  hate- 
ful story?  Do  you  suppose  I  didn't  go  through  Hell 
before  I  made  up  my  mind  that  it  was  the  only  way?  " 

"  I  am  not  able,"  Jermyn  said,  "  to  follow  the  intri- 
cacies of  your  reasoning.  I  cannot  conceive  of  any 
woman  fashioning  so  devilish  a  scheme." 

She  came  just  a  little  nearer  to  him.  It  was  as 
though  he  was  a  magnet  which  drew  her.  She  seemed 
to  be  keeping  away  with  difficulty. 

"  Jermyn,"  she  exclaimed,  "  sometimes  I  think  that 
you  must  be  a  creature  from  some  impossible  world ! 
You  don't  understand  —  you  —  a  writer !  You've 
written  of  things,  you've  felt  things.  What  did  I  do 
it  for?  What  did  I  run  that  risk  for?  Not  for  your 
name  —  my  own  is  better.  Not  for  your  money  —  I 
have  more  than  you.  Not  for  your  title  —  I  could  use 
a  greater  than  yours,  if  I  chose.  Jermyn,  you  know 
that  I  love  you  —  you  know  that  I  have  loved  you  al- 
ways ! " 

"  I  do  not  know  that,"  he  declared.  "  I  have  never 
known  it." 

"  You  were  a  fool !  "  she  cried.  "  You  were  a  fool 
not  to  see  and  know !  It  is  because  you  keep  your  head 
in  the  clouds,  it  is  because  you  are  always  thinking  and 
preaching  that  men  and  women  are  strong  enough  and 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      293 

fine  enough  to  live  among  the  mountains  and  never 
come  down  to  earth.  We  aren't;  we  weren't  made  like 
it.  I  love  you  as  a  real,  human  woman  loves  and  wor- 
ships the  only  man  on  earth  for  her.  Nothing  changes 
me.  I  suffered  agonies  at  Annerley,  but  those  agonies 
were  nothing  to  what  I  have  suffered  since  you  and  I 
left  England  together,  six  months  ago." 

"  Are  you  reproaching  me  with  anything?  "  he  asked, 
coldly. 

"  My  God,  yes !  "  she  shrieked.  "  I  am  reproaching 
you!  You  are  treating  me  brutally  just  to  gratify 
your  own  lust  for  revenge.  I  am  your  wife,  Jermyn. 
You  can't  escape  from  it.  You  are  married  to  me. 
Read  the  service.  You  heard  it,  every  word.  Think 
what  our  life  has  been!  You  have  kept  me  away  with 
both  arms,  me,  who  have  been  thirsting  for  a  single 
word  of  kindness  from  your  lips,  a  single  kiss,  a  fugi- 
tive caress,  even  the  touch  of  your  arms.  You  could 
feed  me  on  trifles,  Jermyn.  I'd  pick  up  the  merest 
scraps  of  affection  and  grovel  for  more.  But  you  — 
I  can't  bear  it  any  longer !  Oh,  I  can't  bear  it !  " 

She  suddenly  collapsed.  She  lay  face  downwards  on 
the  sofa  near  where  she  had  been  standing.  Her  long, 
slim  body  was  convulsed  with  sobs.  She  shook  from 
head  to  foot,  her  hands  beat  the  cushions.  Jermyn  sat 
and  looked  at  her.  His  expression  was  simply  faintly 
softened  by  a  pity  entirely  impersonal.  Nevertheless, 
he  rose  to  his  feet  and  came  and  stood  over  her. 

"  Lucille,"  he  said,  "  I  am  sorry.  I  had  hoped  that 
you  would  recognize  the  situation.  It  is  not  my  fault 
that  I  married  you  —  you  know  that.  Therefore,  what 
do  I  owe  you?  You  keep  me  here  by  your  side  but 
you  can't  expect  to  buy  those  things  from  me  which 


294      THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

a  man  can  honorably  give  only  when  he  loves.  I  have 
nothing  of  that  sort  to  give  you,  Lucille." 

She  grew  gradually  calmer.  When  she  got  up,  he 
was  for  a  moment  startled  by  her  appearance.  He 
would,  indeed,  have  led  her  to  the  door  but  she  ran  away 
from  him  like  some  frightened  animal. 

"Don't!  Don't  touch  me,"  she  moaned,  "not  just 
now!  I  can't  bear  it!  I  suppose  I  am  hysterical  to- 
night. Don't  come  near  me,  Jermyn.  Go  back  to  your 
place.  Don't!  Don't!  Don't!" 

She  half  ran  out  of  the  room,  her  shoulders  bent,  a 
strange  limpness  about  her.  She  seemed  suddenly  to 
have  lost  carriage,  grace  and  life  itself.  The  door 
closed.  Jermyn  went  slowly  back  to  his  seat.  He 
turned  the  lamp  a  little  higher.  He  looked  down  at 
the  proof  sheets  before  him  —  he  saw  nothing.  It 
seemed  to  him  that  the  room  was  full  of  voices  — 
ghostly,  plaintive  voices.  He  heard  them  on  every  side, 
curiously  thrilling  in  their  unearthly  note  of  despair: 

"Don't!     Don't!     Don't!" 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

Sybil  remained  an  enigma  to  the  gossips  of  stage- 
land.  She  was  gentle  and  courteous  to  her  old  friends, 
but  her  avoidance  of  new  acquaintances  was  marked 
and  definite.  Jermyn  was  the  only  man  with  whom  she 
was  ever  seen,  and  Jermyn  was  scarcely  the  sort  of 
person  to  be  lightly  accused  of  a  liaison.  Mr.  Leven- 
den  took  a  fatherly  interest  in  her  and  his  wife  did  all 
she  could  to  bring  Sybil  more  into  their  little  world. 

"  What  you  want,  my  dear,"  she  decided  one  day, 
"  is  a  chaperon.  Every  young  girl  of  your  position 
and  appearance,  living  alone,  should  certainly  haVe  a 
chaperon." 

"  Should  they?  "  Sybil  answered  quietly.  "  Well,  I 
never  feel  that  I  need  one.  I  don't  see  what  I  owe  to 
public  opinion  that  I  should  bore  myself  with  an  old 
lady  and  pay  her  for  boring  me." 

"  But,  my  dear,  it's  so  very  unconventional,"  the  man- 
ager's wife  persisted.  "  Even  Miss  Cartnell  has  one  — 
in  fact  they  all  do." 

"  Perhaps,"  Sybil  remarked,  "  they  need  them.  If 
the  stories  one  hears  about  Miss  Cartnell  are  half  of 
them  true,  she  certainly  does.  For  my  part,  I  go  about 
so  little  that  it  would  seem  absurd  for  me  to  saddle  my- 
self with  such  an  incubus.  One's  work  doesn't  fi»ish 
in  the  theatre,  you  know,  Mrs.  Levenden,"  she  con- 
tinued. "  I  often  spend  an  afternoon  thinking  over 


296      THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN 

my  part,  and  I  read  all  the  plays  which  are  sent  to 
me.  That  takes  a  good  deal  of  time." 

Mrs.  Levenden  shook  her  head. 

"  My  dear,"  she  said,  "  it  isn't  natural  at  your  age. 
You  ought  to  be  going  about  with  other  young  people, 
and  enjoying  yourself.  That's  the  way  to  keep  young. 
Why,  you'll  be  a  little  old  maid  in  no  time." 

"  That  doesn't  terrify  me  in  the  least,"  Sybil  assured 
her,  smiling.  "  I  don't  at  all  believe  that  old  maids 
have  such  a  very  bad  time  —  not  the  sort  of  old  maid 
I  fancy  myself  as  being." 

"  All  the  same,  it  isn't  natural,"  Mrs.  Levenden  per- 
sisted. "  Except  for  —  forgive  me,  dear,  for  mention- 
ing his  name,  won't  you  ?  —  Sir  Jermyn  Annerley,  you 
are  never  seen  out  with  any  one  at  all." 

"  There  is  no  one  else,"  Sybil  replied,  "  whom  I  care 
to  be  seen  out  with.  Sir  Jermyn  is  always  interesting. 
We  have  our  work  to  talk  about,  and  many  other 
things." 

"  But  bless  the  girl,"  Mrs.  Levenden  exclaimed,  "  it 
isn't  a  good  thing  to  be  seen  out  with  no  one  except  one 
man !  There's  safety  in  numbers,  you  know.  Come 
and  spend  the  week-end  with  us  —  this  week-end,  now. 
Harry  has  some  young  men  coming  down  and  we'll  stir 
things  up." 

Sybil  laughed  and  shook  her  head. 

"  I  know  your  parties  are  delightful,"  she  said,  "  but 
they  are  not  for  me." 

Nevertheless,  Sybil  thought  of  her  friend's  advice 
that  morning  when  she  took  her  usual  walk  in  the  Park. 
Although  she  would  never  have  confessed  it  to  Jermyn, 
in  those  days  she  was  very  conscious  of  missing  the 
great  things  of  life.  The  very  brilliancy  of  the  season, 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      297 

the  perfume  and  color  of  the  flowers,  the  soft  blue  sky, 
the  sunshine  and  the  mild  west  wind,  all  seemed  charged 
to  her  sometimes  with  a  sort  of  delicate  mockery:  a 
spurious,  fantastic  invitation  towards  the  delights  of  a 
life  whose  gates  were  closed  to  her.  She  watched  the 
faces  of  the  young  girls  whom  she  met,  so  many  of 
them  with  young  men  of  their  own  age.  Were  these 
things  indeed  passing  her  by?  She  was  exactly  in  this 
mood,  standing  on  the  edge  of  the  curbstone,  preparing 
to  cross  the  road,  when  a  great  motor-car  drew  up  al- 
most beside  her,  and  a  young  man  leaned  from  his 
place  at  the  driving  wheel  towards  her,  with  uplifted 
hat. 

"  Good  morning,  Miss  Cluley  {  " 

She  recognized  him  at  once,  although  the  very 
thought  of  his  name  gave  her  a  faint  shiver.  It  was 
Gerald  Lakenham.  He  looked  at  her  a  little  eagerly. 

"  I  wondered,"  he  said  diffidently,  "  seeing  you  alone, 
Miss  Cluley,  I  wondered  whether  I  couldn't  tempt  you 
for  just  a  short  spin?  I've  got  a  new  car  —  a  perfect 
beauty.  She  goes  —  well,  just  get  in  and  let  me  put 
her  on  fourth  speed  down  the  Bayswater  Road.  Do !  " 

Sybil  hesitated  only  for  a  moment.  Afterwards,  it 
seemed  amazing  to  her  that  she  should  have  consented. 

"  I'll  come,"  she  decided.  "  I  think  I  should  love  it. 
The  car  does  look  a  beauty." 

The  boy's  face  was  flushed  with  pleasure.  He 
handed  her  in,  and  the  chauffeur  left  his  side  and 
entered  the  tonneau. 

"  You  wouldn't  rather  be  behind,  would  you  ?  "  he 
inquired,  a  little  doubtfully.  "  I  don't  think  it's  half 
such  fun  myself.  There's  a  wind  shield  and  you  haven't 
a  very  large  hat,  have  you?  " 


298      THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN 

"  I  am  sure  that  I  shall  like  it  better  here,"  she  de- 
clared. 

The  great  car  glided  off,  took  its  place  among  the 
line  of  other  vehicles,  and  shot  out  into  the  Bayswater 
Road  like  a  live  thing.  Sybil,  after  a  moment's  nerv- 
ousness, began  to  feel  the  exhilaration  of  it. 

"  What  time  have  you  to  be  back  ?  "  he  asked  her. 

"  Any  reasonable  time,"  she  answered.  "  It's  about 
eleven  now,  isn't  it?  I  like  to  have  lunch  about  one." 

"  Good !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  Two  hours !  Why,  we 
can  scour  the  country.  Would  you  care  for  another 
rug?" 

"  I  am  perfectly  comfortable,"  she  assured  him,  lean- 
ing back,  "  and  perfectly  happy." 

They  passed  a  little  tediously  out  of  the  suburbs  into 
the  country.  Then  Gerald  turned  southwards  and  they 
came  to  a  region  of  curving  lanes,  lanes  whose  hedges 
were  wreathed  with  dog-roses  and  honeysuckle,  lanes 
which  divided  meadows  in  which  larks  were  singing, 
meadows  starred  with  yellow  buttercups.  The  sky  was 
bluer  than  ever  that  morning,  the  wind  softer.  Sybil 
sat  most  of  the  time  with  half-closed  eyes. 

"  Please  don't  think  that  you  must  talk  to  me,"  she 
begged,  after  he  had  made  several  attempts  at  spas- 
modic conversation.  "  I  know  quite  well  that  one 
ought  not  to  speak  to  any  one  driving  a  big  car.  Be- 
lieve me,  I  just  like  to  sit  back  and  look  out  into  the 
country  and  breathe  this  air.  It's  wonderful." 

"  And  doesn't  she  rip ! "  Gerald  exclaimed,  enthu- 
siastically. "  Never  changed  speeds  since  we  turned 
into  the  Bayswater  Road,  and  that  last  hill  was  a  bit 
of  a  corker  with  the  pull  up  for  those  wagons.  Look 
at  her  now,  just  with  a  touch.  It's  all  on  the  throttle. 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      299 

Why,  I  believe  I  could  get  her  to  sixty-eight  miles  an 
hour." 

"  Don't  try,  please ! "  she  laughed.  "  I  like  this 
smooth  gliding  along." 

"  We  are  not  exactly  crawling,  you  know,"  he  re- 
minded her.  "  We  are  doing  an  easy  thirty." 

"  Then  please  don't  do  any  more,"  she  begged. 

They  passed  across  a  great  common,  where  the  gorse 
bushes  were  breaking  into  yellow  blossom  and  the  young 
bracken  was  shooting  up,  a  new  and  wonderful  green. 
In  the  distance  a  lake  shone  like  a  mirror;  in  the  back- 
ground the  woods  rolled  away  to  the  horizon.  Sybil's 
enjoyment  was  complete.  Her  companion  obeyed  her 
bidding  literally.  He  devoted  his  whole  attention  to 
the  car,  and  the  few  remarks  he  made  were  entirely  con- 
cerned with  their  progress.  When  at  last  they  found 
themselves  once  more  in  the  streets  of  London,  Sybil 
sat  up  with  a  little  sigh  of  regret. 

"  Where  shall  I  put  you  down  ?  "  he  asked.  "  Where 
do  you  live?  I'll  take  you  all  the  way  —  I'd  like  to." 

"  Burley  Court,"  she  told  him.  "  We  are  going  into 
London  that  side,  aren't  we?  " 

He  assented.     He  was  suddenly  a  little  shy  again. 

"  I  wonder,"  he  began,  after  a  few  moments'  hesita- 
tion, "  wouldn't  you  come  and  have  lunch  with  me 
somewhere  ?  " 

She  shook  her  head. 

"  Do  you  know,  I  hate  restaurants,"  she  remarked 
simply.  "  I  never  go  out  at  all.  I  am  afraid  you  will 
think  I'm  a  terribly  old-fashioned  frump,  but  I  love  to 
have  just  a  cutlet  and  one  glass  of  claret  in  my  sitting- 
room,  with  the  paper  propped  up  in  front  of  me,  and 
then  lie  on  the  couch  and  smoke  a  cigarette  afterwards." 


300      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

He  was  obviously  disappointed. 

"  I  know  you  don't  often  go  anywhere,"  he  said. 
"  I've  never  seen  you  in  a  restaurant  in  my  life  except 
with  old  Jermyn.  I  thought  this  morning,  though,"  he 
went  on,  "  the  air  and  all  that  might  have  given  you  a 
little  better  appetite  and  you  might  have  felt  like  a 
change.  You  don't  think  it's  cheek,  my  asking,  do 
you?  " 

She  looked  at  him  for  a  moment  and  hesitated. 
After  all,  she  knew  without  any  conceit  that  her  com- 
ing would  give  him  pleasure,  and  her  morning  had  cer- 
tainly been  delightful. 

"  Well,  I  will  change  my  mind  just  this  once,  if  I 
may,"  she  declared,  smiling.  "  I  will  come  and  lunch 
with  you,  if  you  like,  only  you  must  take  me  home  al- 
most directly  afterwards.  I  have  a  new  understudy, 
and  she  is  coming  to  talk  with  me  this  afternoon." 

"  Hooray !  "  Gerald  exclaimed.  "  That's  fine !  Now 
I  wonder  where  you'd  like  to  go  —  whether  you'd  pre- 
fer a  grill-room,  I  mean,  or  a  swagger  restaurant." 

"  Grill-room,  by  all  means,"  she  begged.  "  I  am  not 
in  the  least  prepared  for  anywhere  smart." 

"  We'll  go  to  the  Carlton  grill-room,"  he  declared. 
"  I  can  always  get  a  table  there  and  the  food's  top- 
ping." 

"  The  Carlton  grill-room  will  do  very  nicely,"  she 
assured  him. 

The  traffic  became  thicker  and  there  was  very  little 
more  opportunity  for  conversation  before  they  de- 
scended in  Pall  Mall.  Freed  from  the  responsibility  of 
his  car,  her  companion  became  pleasantly  loquacious. 
He  secured  his  table  from  the  chief  maiire  d'hotel,  and 
with  an  air  of  conscious  pride  followed  Sybil  through 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      301 

the  room.  During  their  meal  he  talked  pleasantly  of 
himself  and  his  doings.  Sybil  was  a  good  listener  and 
she  was  always  amused.  After  all,  he  was  rather  an  in- 
teresting study  —  a  young  man  barely  twenty-four 
years  old,  just  come  into  his  title,  with  enormous  wealth 
and  everything  in  life  before  him.  One  could  scarcely 
fail  to  be  interested  at  the  way  his  ideas  shaped  them- 
selves, and  there  was  a  certain  fascination  in  the  per- 
fectly natural  manner  in  which  he  chattered  of  his  re- 
sponsibilities, his  pleasures  and  his  hopes.  When  he 
left  her,  shortly  before  three  o'clock,  at  the  door  of  the 
building  in  which  her  flat  was  situated,  Sybil  felt  really 
grateful  to  him.  Somehow  or  other,  he  seemed  to  have 
brought  her,  for  a  little  time,  more  in  touch  with  the 
world  in  which  it  seemed  her  natural  heritage  to  belong, 
the  world  which  was  at  once  so  joyful  and  almost  ob- 
trusively gay,  and  from  which  she  had  sometimes,  in 
her  moments  of  depression,  fancied  herself  banished 
forever. 

"  Will  you  come  again  one  morning?  "  he  begged. 

"  I'd  love  to,"  she  answered,  honestly. 

"  Then  I  shall  telephone,  or  write  and  ask  you,"  he 
said.  "  Don't  bother  to  answer,  if  you  can't  come,  and 
don't  bother  to  come  if  you've  anything  else  you  want 
to  do.  Just  wait  until  I  hit  upon  the  right  moment. 
Or  if  you  ever  have  a  headache  and  feel  like  it  your- 
self," he  went  on  eagerly,  "  just  ring  me  up  —  I'll  send 
you  the  number  —  and  I'll  be  down  as  soon  as  the  car 
can  bring  me,  whatever  I'm  doing." 

She  laughed  as  she  gave  him  her  hand. 

"  You  are  very  nice,"  she  declared.  "  I'll  come,  with 
pleasure,  and  before  long,  too." 

She  waved  her  hand  to  him  as  he  drove  away.     Some- 


302      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

how  or  other,  the  lift  seemed  a  little  smaller  than  usual, 
and  a  little  slower,  the  air  of  the  place  gloomier,  her 
little  flat  more  unoccupied  and  emptier.  She  took  off 
her  hat  and  jacket  and  looked  at  herself  in  the  glass. 
Yes,  there  were  wrinkles  under  her  eyes,  a  blue  vein 
was  already  beginning  to  show  at  her  temple.  She  be- 
gan to  question  herself  almost  passionately.  Was  she 
really  wise  in  letting  life  slip  by  her,  in  nursing  for- 
ever her  hopeless  love?  And  then  she  smiled  a  little 
sadly  at  the  sheer  inutility  of  the  question.  In  her 
heart  she  knew  that  as  long  as  she  lived  there  could  be 
no  other  man  in  her  life  save  one.  .  .  . 

Gerald  went  joyously  round  to  his  club,  and  almost 
the  first  person  he  saw  was  Jermyn. 

"  Hullo,  sir !  "  he  exclaimed,  cheerfully.  "  Do  you 
know  whom  I've  taken  for  a  drive  in  my  new  car  this 
morning?  " 

"  I  am  quite  sure,"  Jermyn  replied,  "  that  the  circle 
of  your  acquaintances  is  far  too  wide  for  me  to  make 
any  reasonable  guess.  Unless,"  he  added,  his  tone 
growing  a  trifle  colder,  "  you  have  been  round  to  see 
Lucille?" 

Gerald  shook  his  head. 

"  I  was  driving  in  the  Park,  trying  my  new  Daimler," 
he  explained,  "  and  I  saw  Miss  Cluley  standing  on  the 
pavement.  It  was  just  an  impulse  but  it  seemed  to  me 
that  she  looked  a  little  lonely.  I  stopped  and  asked 
her  to  come  for  a  ride  and  she  said  yes  at  once.  We 
went  right  down  into  the  country  for  two  hours  and  I've 
just  given  her  some  lunch  at  the  Carlton  grill-room." 

Jermyn  was  silent  for  a  moment.  Always  rather  a 
keen  and  conscientious  analyst  of  any  unusual  emotion, 
he  was  absolutely  unable  to  account  for  the  curious  de- 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      303 

pression  which  suddenly  crept  in  upon  him.  It  was  a 
natural  incident,  absolutely  natural.  In  his  heart  he 
knew  that  he  ought  to  be  glad  that  Sybil  had  had  a 
pleasant  morning,  and  yet  he  hated  it.  The  boy  was 
nearly  of  her  own  age,  a  part  of  the  life  which  she 
should  be  leading.  He  realized,  too,  the  utter  ab- 
surdity of  it,  and  yet  the  thought  that  she  had  been 
seen  driving  with  Gerald  alone,  had  lunched  with  him 
alone,  irritated  him  unreasonably.  He  had  expected 
too  much  of  her.  Was  this  the  beginning  of  the  end? 

"  I  am  sure  Miss  Cluley  appreciated  it,"  he  said 
quietly.  "  She  loves  the  country." 

"  Isn't  she  a  ripper !  "  Gerald  exclaimed,  enthusiastic- 
ally. "  I  never  met  any  one  so  charming  and  so  easy 
to  talk  to.  I  don't  wonder  at  your  liking  to  write  plays 
for  her,  sir,"  he  went  on.  "  I  only  jolly  well  wish  I 
could.  Hullo,  Sammy !  " 

Gerald  passed  on  to  join  one  of  his  boon  companions. 
Jermyn  went  out  into  the  streets,  very  quiet  and  a  lit- 
tle thoughtful.  He  suddenly  felt  older,  a  generation 
removed.  Perhaps,  even,  the  respectful  "  sir "  with 
which  the  boy  had  addressed  him  —  the  hallmark  of  his 
seniority  —  irritated.  He  had  left  the  club,  meaning 
to  go  around  and  see  Sybil.  Even  after  he  had  called 
a  taxicab,  however,  he  hesitated.  Something  told  him 
that  it  was  better  for  him  to  keep  away. 

"  Where  to,  sir?  "  the  man  asked. 

"  Berkeley  Square,"  Jermyn  replied. 

They  started  off  and  turned  into  St.  James's  Street. 
Jermyn  put  his  head  out  of  the  window. 

"  Go  to  Burley  Court,"  he  ordered. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 

Sybil,  standing  on  the  hearthrug  of  her  little  sitting- 
room,  was  declaiming  one  or  two  of  the  lines  in  her  part 
concerning  which  there  had  been  a  slight  difference  of 
opinion,  to  the  young  lady  who  had  recently  been  pro- 
moted to  be  her  understudy.  She  welcomed  Jermyn 
with  her  usual  smile,  but  his  nerves  were  already  a  little 
on  edge  and  he  fancied  that  there  was  a  certain  amount 
of  surprise  in  her  greeting. 

"  You  have  arrived  just  in  time,"  she  assured  him. 
"  Let  me  present  you  to  the  author,  Miss  Sinclair  —  Sir 
Jermyn  Annerley,  Miss  Sinclair.  I  am  trying  to  ex- 
plain some  of  the  passages  at  the  end  of  the  second  act 
to  my  new  understudy.  Now  you  are  here,  you  can  sit 
down  in  that  easy-chair  and  help  us." 

"  It's  a  wonderful  part,"  Miss  Sinclair  declared, 
"  but  I  hope  I  never  have  to  play  it.  Too  subtle  for 
me,  I  am  sure.  I  can't  think  how  you  could  have 
thought  out  such  a  character  as  Nora,  Sir  Jermyn. 
You  must  have  had  a  tremendous  experience  of  our  sex." 

He  smiled  a  little  curiously. 

"  I  am  not  sure,"  he  replied,  "  that  a  tremendous 
experience  was  necessary.  Nora  is  only  an  average 
woman." 

"  It  is  the  average  woman,"  Miss  Sinclair  insisted, 
"  who  is  always  incomprehensible.  I  do  flatter  myself 
that  I  can  generally  tell  what  a  man  is  going  to  do  or 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      305 

say  when  he's  in  a  certain  position.  With  a  woman, 
even  one's  dearest  friend,  one  can  never  be  quite  sure." 

"  When  you  two  have  quite  finished  exchanging 
subtleties  — "  Sybil  put  in  gently.  "  Are  you  ready 
now?  Read  those  last  two  speeches  again,  then,  please, 
Miss  Sinclair." 

Jermyn  leaned  back  in  his  chair  and  listened. 
Sometimes  he  listened,  sometimes  he  watched  Sybil. 
She  was  at  all  times  too  entirely  natural  to  be  in  the 
least  embarrassed  by  his  presence  and  she  devoted  her- 
self to  her  task  with  a  devotion  which,  considering  that 
it  was  entirely  a  labor  of  love,  very  much  impressed 
him.  Later  on,  when  they  were  alone,  he  remarked 
upon  it.  She  laughed  as  she  sank  on  to  a  footstool  at 
his  feet. 

"  Isn't  it  your  play,  dear?  I  should  hate  to  think, 
if  anything  happened  to  me  so  that  I  was  out  of  the 
cast  even  for  a  few  nights,  that  the  performance  would 
suffer  too  much." 

"  You   are  the   play,"   he   declared. 

"Rubbish!"  she  laughed.  "You  mustn't  flatter 
me.  Now  tell  me  why  you  came  this  afternoon  with  a 
face  like  a  thunder-cloud?  It  has  cleared  off  a  little 
but  something  has  annoyed  you,  hasn't  it  ?  " 

He  hesitated.  The  last  few  minutes  had  been  full  of 
reflections,  inspired  by  the  delicate  atmosphere  which 
Sybil  seemed  always  to  create  around  her.  The  simple 
flowers  and  adornments  of  her  room,  her  unselfish 
cordiality  to  the  girl  who  had  just  left,  the  frank,  sweet 
pleasure  which  shone  out  of  her  eyes  at  his  coming,  all 
seemed  like  mute  reproofs  to  his  irritable  and  disturbed 
state  of  mind.  He  hesitated,  uncertain  how  even  to 
hint  at  his  thoughts. 


306      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

"  The  thunder-cloud  has  passed,"  he  said,  taking  her 
hand  between  his.  "  You  have  charmed  it  away." 

"  Nevertheless?  "  she  persisted. 

"  I  saw  young  Gerald  at  the  club.     He  annoyed  me." 

"  But  why?  "  she  asked,  with  lifted  eyebrows.  "  He 
has  been  so  charming  to  me  this  morning.  Didn't  he 
tell  you?" 

"  He  did,"  Jermyn  admitted  grimly.  "  The  young 
cub  was  chock-full  of  conceit.  I  could  have  kicked 
him!" 

She  looked  into  his  face,  for  a  moment,  genuinely 
puzzled. 

"  You  didn't  mind  my  going?  " 

"  I  did,"  he  assured  her.     "  I  hated  it." 

The  tiny  little  lines  at  the  corners  of  her  eyes 
deepened.  She  began  to  laugh,  with  her  eyes  at  first  and 
then  her  lips.  When  she  had  finished,  she  sat  on  the 
ground  at  his  feet  and  wiped  the  tears  away. 

"I  believe  you  were  jealous,  Jermyn!"  she  de- 
clared. 

The  puerility  of  his  emotion  confronted  him  now,  un- 
excused  and  naked. 

"  I  was  jealous  in  the  meanest  possible  way,"  he  con- 
fessed. 

"  Gerald  is  playing  around  town  like  other  boys  of 
his  age  and  temperament,  and  I  hated  to  have  you  seen 
with  him." 

"  But  that  is  so  simple,  then,  dear,"  she  told  him 
softly.  "  I  will  not  go  out  with  him  again,  if  I  can 
avoid  it  without  hurting  his  feelings.  It  was  only  a 
moment's  indecision  —  and  he  was  just  as  kind  and  de- 
lightful as  could  be.  Now  I  know  how  you  feel,  it  is 
different,  of  course." 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      307 

Jermyn  rose  suddenly  to  his  feet.  Her  answer  had 
completed  his  humiliation. 

"  Sybil !  "  he  exclaimed  hoarsely.     "  Sybil !  " 

Looking  up  into  his  face,  she  saw  the  change.  Her 
knees  began  to  tremble.  She  rose  slowly.  Her  eyes 
were  still  fixed  upon  his,  but  she  said  nothing.  He 
caught  her  suddenly  by  the  wrists. 

"  It  is  intolerable !  "  he  cried.     "  Intolerable  !  " 

Her  eyes  alone  questioned  him. 

"  I  am  like  a  clog  upon  your  life,"  he  continued 
fiercely.  "  I  receive  everything,  I  give  nothing. 
Don't  you  know,  child,  that  you  are  young  and  life  is 
beautiful?  Can't  you  hear  it  knocking  at  the  doors  of 
your  heart?  Didn't  you  feel  it  just  a  little  —  to- 
day?" 

"  I  feel  nothing,"  she  answered,  looking  at  him  with 
shining  eyes,  "  except  when  I  am  with  you.  The  rest 
of  the  days  may  go  as  they  please.  They  do  not  count. 
They  do  not  belong  to  my  life.  The  calendar  of  my 
days  consists  only  of  the  days  when  we  are  together. 
You  call  yourself  a  clog!  You  foolish,  foolish  per- 
son! Do  I  need  to  tell  you  that  I  would  sooner  have 
you  and  not  have  you ;  I  would  sooner  be  as  we  are  now 
and  remain  always  just  what  we  are  to  one  another  at 
this  moment,  than  have  all  the  boys  in  London  crazy 
to  marry  me?  " 

He  stood  and  looked  at  her  —  realizing.  He  felt 
suddenly  humbled  and  yet  enriched.  It  was  the  world's 
greatest  gift  which  she  was  offering  to  him,  the  love 
which  comes  without  bargaining,  without  the  artificial 
stimulus  of  passion,  the  love  which  only  woman  can  con- 
ceive in  its  highest  form.  Jermyn  felt  in  those  mo- 
ments a  deep  humility.  The  slight  conceit  engendered 


308      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

by  the  aesthetic  and  purposeful  exclusiveness  of  his  life 
served  him  no  longer  any  useful  purpose.  From  the 
lips  of  this  little  actress,  whose  birth  was  middle-class 
and  whose  education  had  been  scanty,  who  had  been 
adrift  upon  the  world  at  the  age  when  most  girls  go  to 
finishing  schools,  he  received  the  lesson  of  his  life. 

"  I  am  not  worthy,  Sybil  dear  —  no  one  could  be 
worthy,"  he  murmured. 

The  conventions  which  —  it  must  be  admitted,  chiefly 
for  her  sake  —  Jermyn  had  hitherto  made  some  effort 
to  observe  with  regard  to  his  association  with  Sybil,  he 
from  that  moment  ignored.  They  had  tea  together  in 
St.  James's  Street  and  strolled  afterwards  along  Bond 
Street,  looking  in  the  shop  windows,  making  even  a  few 
purchases.  They  were  laughing  together  and  dispu- 
ting over  the  possession  of  a  parcel,  when  Lucille  passed 
them.  She  was  in  her  landaulette  and  they  were  walk- 
ing, but  she  was  near  enough  to  see  the  smile  upon 
Jermyn's  lips,  to  notice  a  new  spring  in  his  bearing,  as 
he  walked  alertly  along.  People  turned  to  look  at  them, 
too.  They  were  rather  a  distinguished  couple  —  the 
prettiest  woman  on  the  stage  and  the  most  brilliant 
writer  of  plays.  It  was  a  significant  companionship. 
Lucille  was  swept  slowly  by.  Her  cheeks  were  almost 
ashen;  her  hand  had  stolen  involuntarily  to  her  side. 
She  smiled  at  some  friends  who  passed  by,  but  there  was 
something  ghastly  about  the  parting  of  her  lips.  She 
felt  that  that  little  picture  in  Bond  Street  on  this  sunny 
afternoon  was,  notwithstanding  its  torture,  indelible. 
It  was  before  her  all  the  time;  it  would  be  before  her 
always. 

She  pulled  the  checkstring  presently  and  ordered  her 
chauffeur  to  drive  to  Harley  Street.  Sir  James  Bond- 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      309 

man  was  in  the  act  of  stepping  into  his  brougham  when 
he  saw  her  alight.  He  hastened  to  greet  her  upon  the 
pavement. 

"  You  can  spare  me  a  few  minutes  professionally  ?  " 
she  inquired. 

"  With  all  the  pleasure  in  the  world,  my  dear  lady," 
he  replied,  reopening  the  door  through  which  he  had 
just  come.  "  My  work  for  the  day  is  over.  To  tell 
you  the  truth,  a  fit  of  idleness  was  upon  me  and  I  was 
on  my  way  round  to  the  club  to  get  a  rubber  of  bridge." 

He  led  the  way  into  his  sanctum,  a  comfortable  if 
somewhat  gloomy  apartment,  and  wheeled  up  an  easy- 
chair  for  his  visitor.  Then  he  seated  himself  before 
his  desk  and  watched  her  for  a  moment  through  half- 
closed  eyes. 

"  What  can  I  do  for  you  ?  "  he  asked  simply. 

"  Examine  me,"  she  answered.     "  I  am  ill." 

"  Won't  you  tell  me  your  symptoms  ?  "  he  said,  tak- 
ing up  his  stethoscope. 

"  I  have  no  symptoms,"  she  replied,  looking  at  him 
with  burning  eyes.  "  Nevertheless,  I  am  ill." 

He  examined  her  thoroughly.  She  endured  every- 
thing without  either  impatience  or  anxiety.  When  he 
had  finished,  and  the  maid  whom  he  had  summoned  to 
assist  her  with  her  toilette  had  disappeared,  she  turned 
towards  him  feverishly. 

"  Well?  " 

"  There  is  nothing  whatever  the  matter  with  you," 
he  told  her. 

"  You  mean  that  I  am  sound  everywhere  ?  " 

"  Organically,  you  are  entirely  sound.  Your  nerves 
are  disturbed.  I  could  give  you  some  medicine ;  I  would 
rather  not." 


310      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

She  brooded  for  a  brief  space  of  time. 

"  I  am  twenty-eight  years  old,"  she  remarked.  "  You 
mean,  then,  that  I  may  possibly  live  for  another  twenty 
or  thirty  years?  " 

"  Not  possibly  —  almost  certainly." 

She  rose  to  her  feet  a  few  moments  later. 

"  Thank  you,  my  friend,"  she  said,  a  little  wearily. 
"  You  have  told  me  what  I  wanted  to  know." 

He  led  her  towards  the  door.  On  the  way  he  slipped 
his  arm  through  hers. 

"  Lucille,"  he  said,  "  do  you  want  some  real  old- 
fashioned  practitioner's  advice  —  perfectly  sound,  mind, 
perfectly  sound,  and  in  your  case  absolutely  true?  " 

"  Of  course  I  do,"  she  assured  him. 

"  How  long  have  you  been  married?  "  he  asked. 

"  Nearly  seven  months,"  she  replied.     "  Why  ?  " 

He  whispered  for  a  moment  in  her  ear.  She  stopped 
short.  The  color  burned  in  her  cheeks  and  then  streamed 
slowly  away.  She  faltered.  The  physician  watched 
her  gravely. 

"  Ah,  you  fashionable  ladies ! "  he  murmured,  as  he 
threw  open  the  door.  "  You  make  our  profession 
prosperous  by  your  whims.  I  think  I  shall  send  you 
a  tonic,  all  the  same.  You  needn't  take  it  unless  you 
like." 

"  Do  !  "  she  begged.  "  I  haven't  tasted  medicine  for 
years.  Good-by,  and  thanks  ever  so  much." 

She  smiled  at  him  from  the  corner  of  her  landaulette, 
and  was  whirled  away.  Sir  James,  who  was  a  method- 
ical man,  returned  to  his  study,  took  out  his  tablets, 
and  wrote  on  the  space  devoted  to  the  following  day : 

"  To  see  Jermyn.     Ask  lunch,  if  possible." 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 

Three  times  was  Sybil  called  before  the  curtain  at 
the  end  of  the  second  act.  The  enthusiasm,  indeed, 
instead  of  waning  seemed  rather  to  increase,  night  by 
night.  Sir  James'  companion  glanced  towards  him  in 
triumph. 

"Well?"  he  asked. 

The  physician  was  quiet  but  sincere  in  his  reply. 

"  I  am  surprised,"  he  confessed.  "  Miss  Cluley  is  a 
revelation  to  me  in  more  ways  than  one.  Let  us  smoke 
a  cigarette  outside." 

They  passed  out  with  the  throng.  Sir  James  excused 
himself  and  buttonholed  the  manager,  who  was  a  patient 
and  an  old  acquaintance. 

"  Mr.  Levenden,"  he  declared,  "  I  am  charmed  with 
your  play.  I  find,  too,  that  you  are  entirely  right  in 
what  you  told  me  about  Miss  Cluley.  It  would  give 
me  the  greatest  pleasure  to  present  to  her  my  con- 
gratulations in  person.  I  wonder  whether  it  would  be 
possible  for  you  to  obtain  an  introduction  for  me?  " 

Mr.  Levenden  was  somewhat  flattered. 

"  I  cannot  absolutely  promise,  Sir  James,"  he  an- 
swered, "  as  Miss  Cluley  makes  it  a  rule  never  to  re- 
ceive any  one  in  her  room.  I  feel,  however,  that  if 
ever  there  was  a  case  in  which  an  exception  was  pos- 
sible, it  is  yours.  If  you  will  come  round  with  me 
now  behind,  she  has  a  wait  of  nearly  half  an  hour.  I 


312      THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN 

will  send  a  message  into  her  room.  This  way,  if  you 
don't  mind." 

A  message  was  sent  in  to  Miss  Cluley  and  in  a  mo- 
ment or  two  the  reply  came  —  Miss  Cluley  would  be 
very  glad  indeed  to  receive  Sir  James  Bondman  for  a 
few  minutes.  Mr.  Levenden  himself  accompanied  the 
physician  and  uttered  a  word  of  introduction.  Sybil 
received  them  pleasantly  but  with  some  slight  sign  of 
surprise.  As  soon  as  the  manager  had  departed,  Sir 
James  abandoned  his  more  conventional  attitude. 

"  Miss  Cluley,"  he  said,  "  I  have  come  round  to  see 
you,  acting  entirely  upon  an  impulse  for  which  I  hold 
you,  however,  responsible.  It  is  your  own  words,  spoken 
in  that  wonderful  act  to  which  I  have  just  listened, 
which  have  inspired  me  with  this  —  I  fear  you  may  call 
it  presumptuous  —  resolution." 

She  smiled  at  him,  perplexed  but  gracious. 

"  Pray  say  just  whatever  you  like,  Sir  James,"  she 
invited.  "  You  really  needed  no  introduction  to  me. 
I  have  heard  a  very  dear  friend  of  mine  speak  of  you 
often." 

"  It  is  about  that  friend  and  his  wife,"  Sir  James 
continued  gravely,  "  that  I  should  like,  if  I  might,  to 
speak  to  you." 

A  slight  shadow  crossed  Sybil's  face.  She  motioned 
her  visitor  to  a  chair  and  changed  her  own  place. 

"  I  do  not  quite  understand,"  she  said,  "  but  I  am 
willing  —  I  shall  be  very  pleased  —  to  hear  anything 
you  think  it  well  to  say  to  me." 

"  I  am  going,"  he  warned  her,  "  to,  be  very  uncon- 
ventional. When  I  came  to  the  theatre  this  evening, 
I  had  no  idea  that  I  should  find  you  the  sort  of  young 
lady  to  whom  I  should  care  to  say  what  I  am  about  to 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN     313 

say.  But  I  flatter  myself  that  I  am  a  judge  of  char- 
acter. I  believe  that  I  am  doing  a  wise  thing  in  yield- 
ing to  an  impulse  and  in  seeking  this  interview." 

"  Of  course,"  Sybil  reminded  him  pleasantly,  "  I  am 
finding  all  this  very  mysterious." 

"  The  mysteries  will  disappear  very  soon,"  Sir 
James  went  on ;  "  in  fact  I  am  going  to  speak  very 
plainly  indeed.  Jermyn  Annerley  is  the  son  of  my  old- 
est friend.  I  brought  him  into  the  world ;  I  have  known 
him  all  his  life.  Lucille,  his  wife,  I  have  known,  too, 
since  she  was  a  baby.  You  can  understand,  therefore, 
that  I  take  an  interest  in  them  both." 

"  I  can  understand  that,"  Sybil  admitted.  "  What 
I  cannot  understand  — " 

"  Wait,"  the  physician  begged.  "  Miss  Cluley,  be 
patient  with  me  if  I  am  clumsy.  I  am  an  old  man,  and 
such  gifts  as  I  have  are  not  of  the  tongue,  and  although 
in  my  profession  it  is  supposed  to  be  unfashionable, 
I  have  a  heart.  These  young  people  have  been  married 
-what  is  it  —  less  than  a  year,  at  any  rate.  A  few 
days  ago,  Lady  Annerley  came  to  me  as  a  patient.  She 
came  to  ask  only  a  few  weary  questions.  I  examined 
her.  There  was  nothing  wrong.  Yet,  Miss  Cluley,  I 
am  going  to  place  my  whole  professional  position  in 
your  hands  when  I  tell  you  the  truth  —  the  truth  which 
I  did  not  tell  her.  Although  my  actual  words  were 
true  ones  when  I  told  her  that  there  was  nothing  the 
matter,  it  is,  nevertheless,  also  true  that  unless  some 
change  takes  place  in  the  manner  of  her  life,  Lucille 
will  not  live." 

Sybil  looked  across  the  room  at  him  steadily.  For 
several  moments  she  said  nothing.  In  the  distance  they 
could  hear  the  orchestra  tuning  up;  outside,  the  rum- 


3i4      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

bling  of  feet  in  the  corridor,  fragments  of  conversation, 
the  creaking  of  ropes  as  the  scene  shifters  attended  to 
their  duties.  But  in  the  room  there  was  silence.  Sybil 
was  looking  intently  into  the  stern,  calm  face  of  the 
man  who  had  seated  himself  on  the  edge  of  an  easy- 
chair,  a  few  feet  away. 

"  You  must  please  go  on  now,"  she  said  at  last.  "  You 
have  told  me  so  much  —  more,  I  should  think,  than 
you  have  any  right  to  tell  me.  You  must  tell  me  why 
you  are  here  ?  " 

"  I  have  come  to  you.  Miss  Cluley,"  Sir  James  con- 
tinued, "  because  when  I  sat  in  the  stalls  just  now  and 
watched  you,  I  said  to  myself  — '  I  know  little  of  the 
stage,  I  know  nothing  of  the  art  of  acting,  but  I  be- 
lieve that  this  woman  is  a  real  woman  and  has  a  wom- 
an's heart,  or  the  words  which  she  spoke  —  beauti- 
ful words  they  are,  too  —  would  never  come  so  naturally 
to  her  lips.*  And  then  the  impulse  came  to  me  to  tell 
her  that  a  woman  whom  she  knows  must  die  of  that 
most  impossible,  most  incurable  thing,  a  broken  heart, 
because  —  because  — " 

"  I  am  afraid  that  you  must  finish,  Sir  James,"  Sybil 
insisted. 

"  Because  her  husband  is  either  faithless  to  her," 
the  physician  said  firmly,  "  either  faithless  or,  for  some 
mysterious  reason,  notwithstanding  their  recent  mar- 
riage, remains  her  husband  in  name  only." 

"Why  not  go  to  him?" 

"  It  is  a  reasonable  question.  I  have  already  made 
several  efforts  to  see  Jermyn.  I  think  that  he  has  been 
out  of  town.  I  shall  see  him,  and  very  soon.  I  am 
only  waiting  for  his  return.  And  then,  only  this  after- 
noon, I  felt  that  impulse  to  come  and  look  at  you  from 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      315 

the  stalls.  Although  I  am  an  old  man  and  devoted 
to  my  profession,  Miss  Cluley,  I  go  sometimes  into 
the  world.  I  frequent  my  club.  I  know  quite  well  that 
people  never  quite  understood  Jermyn's  marriage. 
There  are  some  who  say  now  that  though  he  married 
Lucille,  he  loved  Sybil  Cluley,  and  they  ask  themselves 
why." 

"  Do  you  know  why  ?  "  Sybil  asked. 

"  I  do  not,"  Sir  James  answered,  "  but  I  do  know 
this  —  that  unless  Jermyn  treats  his  wife  differently, 
she  will  die." 

Sybil  shuddered.  Her  fingers  played  for  a  moment 
with  some  of  the  appliances  stretched  out  on  the  dress- 
ing-table by  which  she  was  sitting. 

"  So  you  came  to  me,"  she  said.  "  That  seems  so 
strange." 

"  And  to  me,"  he  replied,  "  after  I  had  seen  you,  it 
seemed  so  natural." 

"  I  will  give  you  confidence  for  confidence,"  Sybil 
declared  quietly.  "  I  will  tell  you  a  secret  known  only 
to  three  people  in  the  world.  I  was  engaged  to  marry 
Sir  Jermyn  Annerley.  I  loved  him  and  he  cared  for 
me.  His  present  wife  took  him  from  me  by  a  scandalous 
trick.  Jermyn  discovered  it  only  an  hour  or  so  after 
his  wedding." 

"  So  that  is  the  story,"  the  physician  murmured. 
"  You  have  given  me  the  clew  now  to  what  has  puzzled 
me  so  much.  I  was  right,  then,  in  my  surmise.  It  is 
for  your  sake  that  Jermyn  keeps  his  wife  at  arm's 
length.?-' 

"  The  wife  who  deceived  him,"  Sybil  interposed ;  "  the 
wife  who  tricked  him  into  a  marriage  he  never  de- 
sired." 


3i6      THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN 

Sir  James  rose  to  his  feet  and  came  over  to  the  side 
of  the  chair  where  Sybil  was  sitting.  He  took  her 
hand  for  a  moment  in  his. 

"  Dear  Miss  Cluley,"  he  said,  "  I  think  now  that  I 
understand.  It  is  a  very  sad  position.  Lucille  is 
breaking  her  heart.  Jermyn  is  suffering.  You,  too, 
I  am  sure,  are  suffering.  Don't  you  think  it  would 
be  a  great  thing  if  one  of  you  were  to  set  the  others 
free?" 

"  I  do  not  understand." 

"  Ah,  but  I  think  you  must  understand !  Think ! 
The  key  of  the  whole  situation  is  in  your  hands.  What 
was  it  you  said,  set  somewhere  in  the  midst  of  those 
wonderful  sentences  of  yours  an  hour  ago?  '  Self-sacri- 
fice is  the  major  note  of  love,  around  which  the  women 
of  all  ages  have  entwined  their  fluttering  souls.'  Send 
him  away,  Miss  Cluley.  In  time  he  will  be  the  happier 
for  it;  you  will  have  saved  her  life.  Think,  for  a  mo- 
ment, what  can  happen  if  you  go  on  as  you  are  going 
now.  Think!  Is  there  any  possible  outlet?  Is  there 
any  hope?  Can  you,  when  the  time  comes,  place  your 
hand  in  Jermyn's  with  the  ghost  of  his  dead  wife  haunt- 
ing you?  " 

The  call-boy's  shrill  voice  was  heard  down  the  cor- 
ridor. 

"  Curtain  going  up  on  the  last  act.  Mr.  James 
Rawson,  Miss  Ellen  Sinclair." 

Sir  James  rose  to  his  feet.     Sybil  shook  her  head. 

"  I  have  still  a  few  minutes,"  she  said.  "  Is  this  in- 
deed an  impulse  of  yours,  Sir  James?  " 

"  It  is  entirely  an  impulse,"  he  assured  her. 

"  Supposing  I  accept  that  truism  of  yours,  suppos- 
ing I  admit  that  self-sacrifice  is  the  major  part  of 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN      317 

love?  There  are  two  of  us  women.  Why  should  not 
she  give  him  up?  He  belongs  to  me,  he  loves  me.  He 
has  known  her  all  her  life  but  never  dreamed  of  mar- 
rying her.  He  has  no  real  love  for  her.  Is  it  a  good 
thing  to  force  him  into  the  arms  of  a  woman  whom 
he  does  not  love?  Is  that  morality?  " 

"  Ah,  my  dear,"  Sir  James  answered,  "  I  fear  that 
you  have  come  up  against  the  walls  of  something  very 
old-fashioned,  something  very  primitive,  but  which,  so 
far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  can  never  lose  sight  of  —  she 
is  his  wife,  you  are  not." 

"  His  wife  by  a  trick ! "  Sybil  cried  passionately. 
"  She  stole  him  —  deliberately  stole  him !  She  lied !  " 

"  Even  then  they  have  stood  together  in  church,  they 
are  man  and  wife,"  he  insisted.  "  I  know  that  people 
to-day  are  inclined  to  think  more  of  circumstances  and 
less  of  sacraments.  You  will  think,  of  course,  that  I 
am  a  Philistine.  I  suppose  I  am.  But  there  are  cer- 
tain conditions  of  life  which  seem  to  me  to  belong  to 
the  inevitable  order  of  things.  There  isn't  any  honor- 
able way,  there  hasn't  been  any  evolved  out  of  the 
brain  of  man  throughout  all  the  ages,  by  which  a  hu- 
man being  can  rid  himself  of  these  obligations,  however 
they  come  about.  She  is  his  wife.  She  can  take  from 
no  other  man  what  it  is  his  duty  to  give." 

Once  more  they  heard  the  call-boy,  outside  the  door 
this  time. 

"  Call  for  Miss  Cluley." 

She  was  on  her  feet,  peering  into  the  looking-glass. 
Sir  James  held  out  his  hand. 

"Will  you  shake  hands  with  me,  Miss  Cluley?"  he 
begged.  "  I  do  not  ask  for  any  answer  from  you ;  I 
do  not  ask,  even,  for  any  expression  of  opinion.  I 


3i8      THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN 

only  ask  you  just  to  think  over  what  I  have  said  and 
to  believe  that,  coming  from  a  man  who  is  over  seventy 
years  of  age,  they  come  at  least,  these  words  of  mine, 
without  impertinence.  Good-by !  " 

She  was  busy  with  her  make-up.  She  held  out  her 
hand  but  she  did  not  look  from  the  glass.  He  passed 
quietly  out  to  find  the  manager  waiting  at  the  corner 
of  the  corridor.  As  they  turned  away,  he  heard  once 
more  the  thunder  upon  her  door. 

"  Second  call  for  Miss  Cluley ! " 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 

Mrs.  Levenden  was  on  the  point  of  becoming  irri- 
table. She  remembered,  however,  her  husband's  final 
injunction  and  she  refused  to  discontinue  her  entreaties. 

"  But,  my  dear  Sybil,"  she  protested,  "  we  all  know, 
of  course,  that  you  prefer  to  live  an  extraordinarily 
quiet  life,  but  there  are  just  one  or  two  occasions,  as 
Harry  was  saying,  when  you  really  owe  it  to  the  theatre 
to  show  yourself  a  little.  This  Artist's  Ball  is  going  to 
be  quite  the  biggest  tiling  of  its  sort  that  has  ever 
been  attempted.  We  do  want  the  Imperial  to  be  well 
represented.  Lord  Lakenham  is  giving  us  all  supper 
and  has  taken  the  best  box  in  the  place.  He  doesn't 
seem  to  care  what  he  does  so  long  as  you  come." 

"  It  gives  me  no  pleasure  to  go  to  that  sort  of  thing," 
Sybil  replied.  "  I  am  sorry  but  that  is  really  the 
truth.  I  wrote  and  told  Lord  Lakenham  so  this  morn- 
ing" 

"  It's  for  charity,"  Mrs.  Levenden  persisted. 

Sybil  smiled. 

"  Most  of  these  things  are.     If  a  subscription  — " 

Mrs.  Levenden  made  a  face  at  her. 

"  Bother  your  subscriptions !  You  know  very  well 
that  is  not  what  we  want.  Now  be  a  dear  girl  and 
change  your  mind  —  just  for  my  sake  and  Harry's," 
she  added. 

"  Where  is  the  supper  to  be  ?  "  Sybil  asked. 


320      THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN 

"  At  the  Milan.  Lord  Lakenham  has  taken  the  great 
centre  table  there  and  is  going  to  have  some  wonder- 
ful decorations.  He  has  invited  every  one  of  the  com- 
pany, Harry  and  myself,  and  a  few  more  theatrical 
people." 

Sybil  sighed. 

"  Dear  Mrs.  Levenden,"  she  begged,  "  please  don't 
bother  about  me.  I  really  shan't  be  missed  in  all  that 
company." 

"  Won't  you  ! "  Mrs.  Levenden  answered,  gloomily. 
"  It's  just  to  get  you  there  that  young  Lakenham  has 
been  making  all  this  fuss." 

"  I  have  already  written  and  told  him  that  I  cannot 
come,"  Sybil  reminded  her. 

"  Of  course  you  have,"  Mrs.  Levenden  agreed. 
"  Isn't  that  why  I  am  here?  I  never  saw  any  one  so 
disappointed  in  all  my  life.  You  did  give  him  a  half 
promise,  you  know." 

"  I  didn't  know  that  it  was  going  to  be  a  big  af- 
fair like  this,"  Sybil  protested.  "  I  hadn't  any  idea  — 

She  stopped  short,  the  interruption  which  came  was 
so  sudden  and  so  altogether  unexpected.  The  door  of 
the  room  had  been  quietly  opened,  unheard  by  either 
of  them.  Sybil's  maid  was  announcing  a  visitor. 

"  Lady  Annerley  !  " 

Lucille  had  entirely  the  air  of  a  casual  caller.  She 
shook  hands  with  Sybil  and  had  established  herself  in 
an  easy-chair  before  either  of  the  two  women  had 
realized  exactly  what  was  happening.  Then  Mrs. 
Levenden  completed  in  somewhat  hurried  fashion  her 
farewells. 

"  All  I  can  say,  Sybil,  is  that  I  hope  you'll  think 
better  of  it,"  she  declared.  "  I  shall  perhaps  see  you 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN     321 

at  the  theatre.  Harry  wants  me  to  come  up,  if  I  can, 
and  have  supper  with  some  people.  Good-by !  " 

Mrs.  Levenden  departed,  leaving  behind  her  a  faint 
atmosphere  of  patchouli  and  powder.  Sybil,  who  had 
walked  with  her  visitor  to  the  door,  chiefly  with  the 
object  of  gaining  a  few  seconds'  time,  came  slowly 
back.  Lucille  waited  until  the  door  was  closed  before 
she  spoke. 

"  I  imagine,"  she  began,  "  that  I  am  an  unexpected 
visitor." 

"  I  did  not  expect  to  see  you  here,"  Sybil  admitted, 
without  attempting  to  sit  down,  "  now  or  at  any  time. 
I  cannot  imagine  why  you  have  come.  Do  you  mind 
telling  me?  " 

"  I  have  come,"  Lucille  replied,  "  because  I  want 
something  from  you." 

**  You  want  something  from  me  ?  "  Sybil  repeated. 

Lucille  nodded.  She  leaned  forward  in  her  chair. 
She  was  rather  wonderfully  dressed  in  a  white  velvet 
gown,  and  notwithstanding  the  somewhat  advanced 
spring,  she  was  almost  smothered  in  ermine.  Sybil's 
uncurtained  room  was,  without  doubt,  trying  for  her. 
The  sunshine  shone  fully  in  upon  her  pale  face  and 
thin  features.  Sybil  was  conscious  of  a  little  shock. 
Though  her  visitor  was  still  beautiful,  there  was  some- 
thing almost  startling  in  the  transparency  of  her  skin, 
the  brilliancy  of  her  long,  luminous  eyes. 

"  I  want  my  husband,"  Lucille  said  slowly. 

"Your  husband?" 

"  I  suppose  he  is  mine  although  I  stole  him,"  Lucille 
continued  lightly,  unfastening  her  furs.  "  We  can't 
go  against  facts,  can  we  ?  On  paper  I  won ;  in  reality, 
you  and  I  both  know  that  I  lost." 


322      THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN 

Sybil  was  beginning  to  tremble.  Somehow  or  other, 
she  felt  herself  no  match  for  this  self-possessed,  deter- 
mined woman,  who  seemed  to  speak  so  easily  and  with- 
out even  a  quiver  in  her  tone  of  this  tragedy  which 
lay  between  them. 

"  I  don't  think  that  I  can  discuss  this,"  Sybil  said. 
"  I  wish  that  you  had  not  come.  I  wish  that  you  would 
go  away." 

"  Naturally,"  Lucille  answered,  smoothly.  "  Ours 
could  scarcely  be  a  pleasant  meeting,  could  it?  It  took 
me  a  long  time  to  make  up  my  mind  to  come.  Now  I 
am  here,  well,  I  am  going  through  with  it." 

"  You  are  going  through  with  what  ? "  Sybil  de- 
manded. 

"  My  prayer  to  you,"  Lucille  told  her  swiftly. 
"  Can't  you  see  that  I  have  come  a  supph'ant?  I  want 
my  husband." 

"  Is  he  mine  to  give  ?  " 

"  Entirely,  if  you  choose.  I  staked  a  good  deal  on 
my  vanity.  I  thought  that  if  I  once  won  him  nomi- 
nally, I  should  succeed  in  the  rest  afterwards.  You  see, 
men  have  rather  spoiled  me.  I  shall  never  be  vain 
again !  Jermyn  has  broken  my  spirit.  I  have  failed. 
We  have  lived  together  all  these  months  as  strangers. 
I  have  tried  everything.  This  is  the  last  resource. 
Look  at  me  —  I  am  dying  of  it.  I  don't  exactly  ask 
for  your  pity,  but  for  Heaven's  sake,  girl,  think ! 
Won't  any  other  man  do?  " 

"  How  could  any  other  man  do  for  me  ? "  Sybil 
asked.  "  I  love  Jermyn.  Why  should  you  ask  me 
such  an  abominable  question?  Why  not  another  man 
yourself?  " 

"  Because  I  love  him,  too,"  Lucille  replied  simply. 


"  Can't  you  see  that  I  have  come  a  suppliant  ?     T  want  my 
husband."      Page  J22. 


THE  WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN     323 

"  We  can't  both  succeed  —  reputably.  I  happen  to  be 
in  possession." 

"  He  was  mine  before  you  took  him  away,"  Sybil 
protested. 

"  I  had  loved  him  for  four  years,"  Lucille  declared, 
"  before  you  came  upon  the  scene.  Never  mind  that. 
It's  too  absurd  for  us  to  sit  here  and  bandy  words  like 
two  schoolgirls.  I  have  come  to  plead,  not  to  argue. 
Will  you  make  a  bargain  with  me?  " 

"  What  sort  of  bargain  could  there  be  ?  " 

"  Send  him  away  for  a  year  or  two.  Go  to  America 
—  I  see  the  papers  are  all  talking  about  a  wonderful 
offer  you  have  had  from  New  York.  Let  me  have  him 
for  three  years.  Three  years  will  soon  pass.  You 
will  be  on  the  right  side  of  thirty  then  unless  the  news- 
papers all  lie  about  your  age." 

"  Are  you  talking  seriously  ?  "  Sybil  demanded.  "  If 
so,  I  cannot  think  how  you  could  bring  yourself  to 
make  such  a  preposterous  suggestion.  I  have  not  the 
power  to  send  Jermyn  back  to  you,  any  more  than  it 
would  be  possible  for  you  to  give  him  up  when  the 
three  years  have  passed.  It  is  absurd.  You  talk  as 
though  we  were  living  in  the  Fiji  Islands." 

Lucille  once  more  leaned  a  little  forward  in  her  chair. 
Her  eyes  were  fixed  upon  Sybil's.  She  spoke  slowly 
and  her  words  seemed  somehow  to  have  become  charged 
with  a  certain  mystic  quality,  so  that  they  brought  with 
them  neither  offense  nor  wonder. 

"  Are  you  Jermyn's  mistress  ?  " 

"  I  am  not,"  Sybil  answered. 

Lucille's  fingers  touched  her  throat  for  a  moment. 
When  she  continued,  however,  her  voice  was  quite  calm. 

"  Somehow,   I   believed   that,"   she   said.     "  I    don't 


324      THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN 

understand  it  —  I  don't  understand  that  sort  of  af- 
fection. I  don't  understand  what  sort  of  a  woman  you 
can  be,  but  I  believed  it.  You  can  never  be  happy, 
then,  unless  you  are  his  wife.  Why  doesn't  my  offer 
appeal  to  you?  It  seems  to  me  to  be  your  only  chance. 
In  three  years  he  shall  be  yours.  Don't  ask  me  how 

—  I  promise  it." 

"  You  cannot  promise  anything  of  the  sort,"  Sybil 
declared.  "  It  is  an  absurdity.  Besides,  do  you  think 
that  anything  in  the  future  could  recompense  for  those 
three  years?  Why  should  I  voluntarily  give  up  the 
friendship  which  is  the  only  joy  in  my  life,  a  friend- 
ship which  both  he  and  I  have  accepted  as  the  next  best 
thing?  Will  you  tell  me  one  single  reason  why  I 
should  do  this  ?  " 

"  Because  you  are  what  I  am  not  —  good,"  Lucille 
replied  swiftly.  "  Oh,  I  am  in  earnest !  I  don't  value 
such  goodness  as  yours  very  much  because,  after  all, 
it  is  a  matter  of  temperament,  but  I  haven't  the  least 
doubt  it's  there.  You've  too  many  virtues  to  be  ever 
really  feminine.  Look  at  me.  I  am  dying,  simply  be- 
cause I  love  him  uncontrollably  and  because  he  won't 
touch  me  or  look  at  me.  The  same  roof  shelters  us 
at  night.  For  months  I  have  not  slept.  He  sleeps  in 
the  next  room.  I  hear  him  come  to  bed,  I  hear  him 
get  up.  We  sometimes  lunch  or  dine  together,  we  meet 
on  the  stairs,  we  drive  to  dinner-parties  or  any  other 
sort  of  entertainment,  and  return  together.  He  greets 
me  and  parts  from  me  in  the  same  manner;  his  speech 
of  greeting  or  farewell  is  in  the  same  tone.  Try  and 
imagine  what  it  is  like  yourself.  But  then  you  couldn't 

—  you  could  never  care  as  I  care." 

"  Do  you  think  not  ?  "  Sybil  murmured. 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      325 

"  Perhaps  I  am  wrong,"  Lucille  continued.  "  Mine 
is  the  love  of  the  tigress.  Perhaps  in  time  I  should 
tire  of  him.  But  while  I  live  —  while  I  live  it  is  tor- 
ture! He  gives  me  not  a  word,  not  a  look.  Some- 
times I  have  cried  and  sobbed  all  night.  The  very 
tissues  of  my  body  are  wearing  away.  I  lie  awake  and 
I  ache,  my  heart  aches,  for  the  touch  of  his  fingers, 
for  even  a  sight  of  him.  Some  days  I  am  so  weak 
that  I  can  scarcely  crawl  about.  One  would  think  that 
he  could  see  it,  that  for  pity's  own  sake  he  would  pre- 
tend. He  never  does.  There's  nothing  so  cruel  in  life 
as  the  man  who  doesn't  care  can  be  to  the  woman  who 
does.  ...  I  went  to  a  doctor  the  other  day.  He  told 
me  that  there  was  nothing  the  matter  with  me.  I  could 
have  laughed  when  I  came  away !  " 

"  Sir  James  Bondman  is  your  doctor,  is  he  not  ?  " 
Sybil  asked  quietly. 

Lucille  glanced  across  at  her. 

"  Why  do  you  ask  that?  Yes,  he  is  my  doctor. 
Nothing  the  matter  with  me  —  that  is  what  he  said ! 
And  I  know  —  I  know  that  my  heart  is  breaking.  Have 
you  ever  thought  of  death,  Miss  Cluley?  No,  you 
needn't  trouble  to  answer  me.  It  doesn't  really  matter. 
Of  course  you've  thought  of  it!  Only  I  wish  I  could 
make  you  realize  what  a  horrible  dread  one  can  feel 
of  death  when  one  has  never  for  one  second  been  happy 
in  lifetime.  I  said  just  now  three  years.  If  Jermyn 
were  mine  for  one  week,  I  could  meet  death  more  bravely. 
But  to  feel  yourself  growing  weaker  and  weaker,  to 
feel  yourself  getting  worn  out  and  old,  and  all  the  time 
that  hunger  gnawing  at  your  heartstrings  —  that's 
what  I  am  going  through,  day  by  day !  There  isn't 
any  ranting  Calvinist  with  the  gift  of  tongues  who 


326      THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN 

could  picture  Hell  to  an  hysterical  audience,  as  I  am 
feeling  it.  You  see,  I  am  not  trying  to  excuse  my- 
self. I  am  not  trying  to  tell  you  that  I  am  sorry  — 
I  don't  know  that  I  am.  But  I  am  in  such  a  state  that 
I  can't  bear  it  any  longer.  You  have  a  career,  you're 
only  a  child  yet.  This  state  of  things  can't  be  the 
happiest  for  you.  Give  me  my  three  years.  A  little 
suffering  won't  do  you  any  harm.  It's  the  best  way 
out." 

Sybil  buried  her  head  in  her  hands.  For  a  moment 
her  visitor's  face  had  looked  positively  ghastly.  Lucille 
was  leaning  back  now,  as  though  exhausted.  There 
was  a  silence,  curiously  prolonged.  Lucille  showed 
no  signs  of  impatience.  Sybil  was  living  through  a 
little  Hell  of  her  own.  At  last  she  raised  her  head. 

"  Even  if  I  were  willing,"  she  said  slowly,  "  I  do 
not  see  that  anything  which  I  could  do  would  help  you. 
You  know  very  well  that  Jermyn  is  not  the  sort  of 
man  you  can  tell  things  to  and  give  him  no  reasons. 
We  have  made  our  wonderful  compact.  If  I  were  to 
tell  him  to-morrow  that  I  desired  to  break  it,  he  would 
never  agree;  he  would  insist  upon  explanations." 

Lucille  leaned  eagerly  forward. 

"  You  can  drift  away  from  him,"  she  cried,  speak- 
ing quickly  and  in  a  harsh,  dry  tone.  "  You  know  his 
prejudices.  You  can  mix  for  a  little  time  with  those 
people  he  hates.  Mind,  you  are  living  an  unnatural 
life.  Let  him  see  that  you  feel  it.  Accept  this  invi- 
tation to  America.  Afterwards,  he  will  understand. 
I  will  see  that  he  shall  understand.  Does  this  hurt? 
Do  you  hate  the  thought  of  it?  Think  of  what  I  have 
been  through  before  I  came  here !  I  have  been  called 
a  proud  woman.  Here  I  am,  groveling  at  your  feet, 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      327 

pleading  with  you.  Did  any  woman  before  ever  stoop 
so  low,  I  wonder?  It  isn't  only  my  life;  it's  the  other 
part  of  myself,  the  part  we  don't  understand  —  it's 
my  soul.  I  could  die  once  and  die  quickly,  as  bravely 
as  any  one,  but  I  can't  die  like  this,  unblessed,  with 
the  great  hunger  in  my  heart.  I  have  a  horrible  feel- 
ing that  I  couldn't  rest  —  anywhere.  There  couldn't 
be  a  grave  dug  deep  enough  to  hold  me." 

Sybil  moved  suddenly  to  the  bell.  She  stood  there 
with  her  finger  upon  it. 

"  You  had  better  go  away,  please,  at  once,"  she 
begged.  "  I  daresay  that  I  shall  do  as  you  ask.  I  can- 
not tell.  I  only  know  that  I  want  you  to  go  away  now. 
You  have  said  everything  that  could  be  said.  If  I  do 
it  —  if  I  do  it,  mind  —  I  don't  want  you  to  come  near 
me  or  to  thank  me.  If  you  do  — " 

She  stopped  short.  Her  teeth  were  clenched.  Sybil 
herself,  for  a  moment,  had  the  look  of  a  tigress  in  her 
eyes. 

"  I  think  that  I  understand,"  Lucille  said,  rising  to 
her  feet.  "  In  any  case,  you  are  right  —  I  can  say 
no  more." 

The  maid  had  already  opened  the  door.  Lucille 
passed  out  with  a  little  nod.  Sybil  stood  motionless, 
listening  to  the  opening  and  closing  of  the  front  door, 
the  rattle  of  the  lift  below.  Then  she  turned  slowly 
to  the  telephone  and  rang  up  Mrs.  Levenden's  house  in 
Hampstead. 

"  Tell  Mrs.  Levenden,"  she  directed  the  servant  who 
answered  it,  "  when  she  returns,  that  Miss  Cluley  has 
rung  up.  Say  that  Miss  Cluley  has  changed  her  mind 
and  will  be  glad  to  go  to  the  ball.  She  will  see  about 
her  costume  at  once." 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 

Jermyn  arrived  at  St.  Pancras  about  eight  o'clock  a 
few  evenings  later,  after  a  week's  stay  in  Scotland. 
He  drove  at  once  to  his  club  and  stared  a  little  blankly 
at  the  handful  of  letters  which  the  hall-porter  handed 
him  in  reply  to  his  eager  inquiry.  There  was  not  a 
line  from  Sybil.  He  looked  them  through  once  more 
and  turned  somewhat  aimlessly  towards  the  smoking- 
room.  Coming  out,  he  almost  ran  into  Sir  James. 
The  latter  stopped  at  once. 

"  Just  back  from  Scotland?  "  he  inquired. 

"  This  minute,"  Jermyn  replied. 

Sir  James  looked  at  the  little  pile  of  letters  which 
Jermyn  was  carrying. 

"  You  will  find  two  notes  there  from  me,"  he  re- 
marked. 

Jermyn  glanced  down  at  them. 

"  Nothing  wrong,  I  hope  ?  " 

"  Nothing  at  all.  I  simply  invited  you  to  lunch. 
There  was  a  little  matter  I  felt  I  should  like  to  discuss 
with  you." 

"  What  about  now  ?  "  Jermyn  asked.  "  Have  you 
dined  yet?  " 

"  Just  on  my  way  to  order  a  sole  and  cutlet,"  Sir 
James  declared.  "  Come  and  join  me." 

"  I'll  wash  my  hands  and  be  there  in  five  minutes," 
Jermyn  agreed.  "  I  had  better  telephone  home,  too." 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      329 

"  You  haven't  been  home  yet,  then  ?  " 

Jermyn  shook  his  head. 

"  I  sent  my  man  on  with  the  luggage  and  came  straight 
here,"  he  explained.  "  Order  something  for  me,  will 
you  —  just  the  same  as  you  are  having.  I  am  not 
hungry.  I  have  been  in  the  train  all  day." 

He  went  to  the  telephone  and  made  a  few  casual 
inquiries.  Lady  Annerley,  the  servant  who  answered 
the  telephone  believed,  was  dining  out.  The  car  was 
ordered  for  a  quarter  past  eight. 

"  You  will  let  her  ladyship  know  that  I  have  returned," 
Jermyn  instructed.  "  I  shall  probably  be  here  for  some 
time." 

He  made  his  way  to  the  dining-room  and  sat  down 
to  dinner  with  the  physician.  They  talked  for  a  while 
on  casual  topics.  Then  Sir  James  began  slowly  to 
draw  near  the  subject  which  was  all  the  time  in  his 
mind. 

"  I  went,  a  few  nights  ago,  Jermyn,"  he  said,  "  to 
the  Imperial  Theatre.  I  knew  your  play  was  good  but 
I  didn't  expect  to  enjoy  it  so  much.  Not  only  is  the 
play  good  but  I  tell  you  frankly  I  think  that  Miss  Cluley 
is  a  perfectly  marvelous  actress." 

For  the  first  time  Jermyn  smiled. 

*'  She  is  quite  wonderful,"  he  admitted.  "  I  am  glad 
you  went.  I  know  you're  not  much  of  a  playgoer." 

"  I  am  not,"  Sir  James  confessed.  "  I  used  to  enjoy 
the  old-fashioned  sort  of  thing,  but  science  makes  so 
many  demands  upon  us,  nowadays,  that  one  has  very 
little  time  of  any  sort  for  diversion.  Besides,  I  don't 
like  the  modern  play.  I  am  sick  of  seeing  everything 
from  the  French.  It  isn't  wholesome.  In  fact,  there 
are  many  phases  of  modern  life,  Jermyn,  which  don't 


330      THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

please  an  old  stager  like  myself.  I  am  going  to  talk 
to  you  about  one  for  a  minute  or  two  now,  if  I  may." 

Jermyn  looked  up  in  some  surprise. 

"  Go  ahead,  by  all  means,"  he  said.  "  You  provoke 
my  curiosity." 

"  Your  wife  has  consulted  me  about  her  health." 

Jermyn's  face  altered  slightly.  It  was  noticeable 
that  his  expression  had  hardened. 

"  I  have  not  heard  that  she  has  been  unwell,"  he 
remarked. 

"  She  is  not  unwell,"  his  companion  pronounced, 
bluntly.  "  She  is  only  dying." 

Jermyn  set  down  the  glass  which  he  had  been  in  the 
act  of  raising  to  his  lips.  His  hands  were  trembling. 
The  physician  had  certainly  produced  his  effect. 

"  Are  you  serious,  Sir  James  ?  " 

"  Is  it  a  matter  to  discuss  in  any  other  spirit?  Your 
wife  hasn't  an  unsound  organ  in  her  body  and  yet  she 
is  dying." 

"What  is  the  matter  with  her,  then?" 

"  You,"  the  physician  replied,  gravely. 

There  was  a  brief  silence.  Then  Jermyn  laughed  a 
little  hardly. 

"  If  you  were  a  modern  practitioner,  my  friend,"  he 
said,  "  I  am  afraid  I  should  look  upon  this  as  some- 
thing of  a  dodge." 

"  You  can  call  it  what  you  like,"  the  other  declared. 
"  You  know  very  well  that  I  hate  all  quackery  and  that 
I  am  not  given  to  sensational  speeches.  I  am  fond  of 
you,  young  man,  and  I  am  fond  of  your  wife.  I  tell 
you  frankly  that  there  is  a  wasting  process  going  on 
inside  Lucille,  against  which  science  is  of  no  avail.  She 
is  fretting  herself  into  the  grave.  I  had  to  ask  her 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      331- 

questions.  I  asked  them  professionally  and  she  an- 
swered professionally,  but  they  tell  the  story,  you 
know." 

The  conversation  between  the  two  men  was  inter- 
rupted for  a  time  by  the  service  of  dinner  and  by  the 
passing  through  the  room  of  some  friends.  It  was 
Jermyn  who  recommenced  it. 

"  Doctor,"  he  said,  "  I  have  never  looked  upon  you 
as  given  to  exaggeration,  and  I  am  not  accusing  you 
of  it  now,  but  are  you  sure  that  you  quite  understand 
Lucille?  She  is  very  excitable  and  nervous  and  highly 
strung.  She  came  to  you  in  one  of  her  moments  of  de- 
pression. You  might  very  easily  form  an  idea  of  her 
condition  which  was  a  little  misleading." 

Sir  James  poured  himself  out  a  glass  of  wine. 

"  I  brought  Lucille  into  the  world,"  he  continued.  "  I 
attended  her  throughout  her  girlhood.  I  traveled  over 
to  France  to  see  her  when  she  had  typhoid.  I  do  not 
believe  that  she  has  ever  voluntarily  consulted  another 
doctor.  She  has  been  like  one  of  my  own  children  to 
me.  Everything  that  I  have  told  you  is  the  truth  and 
more  than  the  truth.  I  speak,  of  course,  in  complete 
ignorance  of  any  circumstances  there  may  be  between 
you  to  explain  what,  on  the  face  of  it,  seems  so  strange. 
I  can  only  deal  with  facts.  Lucille  is  dying.  She  will 
die  if  you  do  not  save  her.  It  is  my  duty  to  tell  you 
this." 

Curiously  enough,  after  the  first  shock,  Jermyn's  suc- 
ceeding impulse  was  one  of  anger. 

"  Look  here,  Doctor,"  he  said,  "  supposing  there  was 
a  cause  of  offense  between  my  wife  and  myself,  so  great 
that,  however  strange  it  may  seem  to  you,  there  was 
dishonor  in  my  even  simulating  an  affection  for  her 


332      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

which  I  could  not  feel,  do  you  still  sit  there  and  tell  me 
that  her  state  of  health  is  my  responsibility  ?  " 

"  I  am  a  doctor  and  not  a  philosopher,"  Sir  James 
remarked,  dryly.  "  Honor  and  dishonor  I  do  not  un- 
derstand—  not  the  modern  view  of  them,  at  any  rate. 
The  position  of  husband  and  wife  has  been  the  same 
since  the  world  was  made,  and  always  will  be,  although 
the  present  generation  seems  to  do  nothing  but  kick  at 
it.  You  may  alter  schools  of  thought,  you  may  build 
up  new  standards,  establish  new  cults  and  new  sects, 
but  you  can't  do  away  with  the  obligations  of  the  mar- 
riage ceremony.  I  don't  wish  to  know  anything  more 
than  I  do  know.  It  is  my  duty  to  point  out  your  re- 
sponsibility, and  to  my  thinking,  at  any  rate,  there  isn't 
anything  in  this  world  which  could  absolve  you  if 
Lucille  dies  without  your  making  an  effort  to  save  her. 
.  .  .  Shall  we  take  our  coffee  outside?  I  am  going  on 
to  a  meeting  at  the  hospital." 

Jermyn  waved  him  away. 

"  I'd  rather  you  went,"  he  said  simply.  "  I  want 
to  think." 

Sir  James  rose  from  his  place  and  for  a  moment  let 
his  arm  rest  upon  Jermyn's  shoulder. 

"  I  am  an  old  fool,  I  suppose,"  he  declared,  "  but, 
Jermyn,  there's  only  one  way  out  of  a  tangle,  and  there 
isn't  any  one  who  can  show  it  you  so  well  as  you  can 
find  it  out  for  yourself,  if  you'll  only  be  honest." 

Jermyn,  a  little  later  on,  found  a  secluded  corner  in 
the  reading-room  and  threw  himself  into  an  easy-chair. 
A  crowd  of  hateful  thoughts  were  pressing  in  upon  him. 
There  were  things  which  he  was  forced  to  admit.  Since 
the  day  of  his  marriage,  it  had  been  a  changed  Lucille 
who  had  lived  like  a  shadow  at  his  side.  Even  as  he 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN     333 

sat  there,  he  could  think  of  a  hundred  cases  of  his 
brutality  towards  her.  He  had  told  himself  that  he 
was  simply  being  consistent.  He  had  promised  nothing ; 
he  had  nothing  to  give.  He  followed  their  tour,  in  his 
thoughts,  from  city  to  city,  and  back  again  to  England. 
It  was  a  changed  Lucille,  indeed.  He  had  watched 
her  grow  quieter  and  quieter.  He  remembered  —  his 
heart  ached  with  a  dull  pain  when  he  remembered  the 
many  times  when  she  had  made  those  timid  appeals  to 
him;  the  imploring  light  of  her  eyes,  the  small  artifices 
she  had  used,  the  half -frightened  entreaties  for  just  a 
little  tenderness,  a  word,  a  touch,  even,  of  his  fingers. 

The  night  before  he  had  left  for  Scotland  —  he 
thought  of  it  now  almost  with  fear,  he  had  lain  awake 
in  his  room  and  he  had  heard  a  strange  sound.  He  had 
crept  to  the  keyhole  of  the  communicating  door,  which 
as  yet  he  had  never  unlocked,  and  listened.  He  seemed 
to  hear  the  sound  now  again  in  the  silence  which  reigned 
around  him  —  the  sound  of  a  woman  moaning  and  sob- 
bing quietly  through  the  hours  of  the  night !  .  .  .  This 
was  a  new  and  a  terrible  thing  which  had  come  into  his 
life,  a  new  tragedy  which  he  had  no  idea,  at  the  mo- 
ment, how  to  face! 

The  time  slipped  away.  He  rose  at  last  a  little  wear- 
ily and  made  his  way  round  to  the  theatre.  The  per- 
formance was  just  over  and  he  met  Mr.  Levenden  in 
the  passage  by  the  door-keeper's  office.  He  fancied  that 
the  latter  seemed  none  too  pleased  to  see  him. 

"  You  back,  Sir  Jermyn  ?  "  the  manager  exclaimed. 
*'  By  Jove,  I  wish  I'd  known  that  you  were  going  to 
be  in  town!  We've  a  small  supper  party  on  to-night. 
Couldn't  you  get  off  home,"  he  added,  glancing  at 
Jermyn's  attire,  "  and  change  and  join  us  later?  " 


334      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

"  Not  to-night,  I  am  afraid,"  Jermyn  replied ;  "  thank 
you  all  the  same.  I  have  been  traveling  all  day.  Miss 
Cluley  hasn't  left,  I  hope?  " 

"  No,  I  think  she  is  just  prinking  up,"  Mr.  Levenden 
told  him.  "  She  is  supping  with  us." 

Jermyn  stopped  short. 

"  Supping  with  you  ?  "  he  repeated. 

"  My  wife  and  I  both  think,"  Mr.  Levenden  continued, 
"  that  Miss  Cluley  has  been  living  much  too  secluded  a 
life.  I  am  thankful  to  say  that  she  is  beginning  to 
break  through  it  just  a  little.  She  is  coming  to  the 
Artists'  Ball  to-morrow.  Young  Lord  Lakenham  is  giv- 
ing a  great  supper  party.  A  connection  of  yours,  by 
the  way,  isn't  he,  Sir  Jermyn?  You  ought  to  come. 
A  writer  ought  to  see  all  sides  of  life,  you  know." 

Jermyn  turned  slowly  round. 

"  If  Miss  Cluley  is  going  out  to  supper,"  he  said, 
"  I  won't  wait  now." 

"  She'll  like  to  see  you  for  a  moment,  I  expect,"  the 
manager  remarked.  "  Perhaps  she'll  be  able  to  per- 
suade you  to  join  us." 

Jermyn  hesitated.  It  was  a  queer  little  world  which 
seemed  crumbling  about  his  ears. 

"  No,  I  won't  bother  her  now,"  he  decided.  "  I  shall 
see  her  to-morrow,  sometime." 

Jermyn  passed  out,  just  managing  to  escape  Gerald, 
who  was  alighting  from  his  car  outside.  He  jumped 
into  a  taxi  and  drove  home. 

"  Your  mistress  in  ?  "  he  inquired  mechanically  of 
Roberts,  as  the  latter  relieved  him  of  his  hat  and  over- 
coat. 

"  Her  ladyship  has  not  been  out  this  evening,  Sir 
Jermyn,"  the  butler  informed  him.  "  She  was  dining 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      335 

at  Dorington  House  and  was  on  the  point  of  starting 
when  she  felt  unwell.  It  was  just  after  you  had  tele- 
phoned from  the  club,  sir.  She  has  been  alone  in  her 
boudoir  all  the  evening.  I  believe  she  is  there  now,  sir." 

Jermyn  slowly  ascended  the  stairs  and  knocked  at 
the  door  of  the  end  room  of  Lucille's  little  suite.  There 
was  no  answer.  He  turned  the  handle  softly  and  en- 
tered. Lucille  was  lying  on  a  couch  in  a  white  dress- 
ing-gown. There  were  some  smelling  salts,  the  evening 
paper,  a  novel  and  a  bowl  of  roses  on  a  small  table  by 
her  side.  He  closed  the  door  quietly  and  came  further 
into  the  room.  Then  he  saw  that  she  was  asleep.  He 
stood  with  his  feet  buried  in  the  thick  fur  of  the  white 
rug,  looking  down  at  her.  A  curious  little  pain  pulled 
at  his  heartstrings.  He  was  conscious  of  a  new  feeling 
with  regard  to  her,  a  sense  of  immense,  almost  infinite 
pity.  Even  in  repose,  her  face  was  so  absolutely  the 
face  of  a  tortured  woman.  There  were  lines  under  her 
eyes,  hollows  in  her  cheeks ;  her  neck,  too,  had  grown 
thinner.  She  was  beautiful  still,  but  in  a  queer,  un- 
earthly sort  of  fashion.  Suddenly  she  opened  her  eyes 
and  saw  him.  It  was  as  though  a  miracle  had  taken 
place.  Her  whole  appearance  was  transformed.  Her 
face  seemed  to  fill  out,  her  eyes  to  soften.  She  grew  at 
once  younger. 

"  Jermyn ! "  she  cried.  "  You  here  ?  Has  anything 
happened  ?  " 

He  came  and  sat  at  the  end  of  the  sofa.  Perhaps 
something  of  that  expression  with  which  he  had  been 
gazing  down  upon  her,  had  already  vanished  from  his 
face,  for  her  first  wild  impulse  of  joy  showed  signs  of 
passing  away. 

"  Nothing  at  all,"  he  answered.     "  Roberts  told  me 


336      THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN 

just  now  that  you  were  not  well  and  I  looked  in  for  a 
moment  to  see  what  was  the  matter.  It  is  nothing  se- 
rious, I  trust?  " 

She  looked  at  him  very  wistfully  for  a  brief  space 
of  time  before  she  replied. 

"  No,  it  is  nothing  serious,"  she  assured  him,  with 
a  little  sigh.  "  I  sleep  badly.  Just  as  I  was  going 
out  to-night,  I  felt  a  trifle  faint.  I  am  weary  of  these 
dinners,  Jermyn  —  so  weary  of  them.  To-night  I  felt 
that  I  couldn't  stand  it.  I  came  up  here  and  lay  down 
and  I  must  have  dropped  off  to  sleep,  and  when  I  opened 
my  eyes  and  saw  you,  I  thought  that  it  was  a  dream. 
You  seemed  different,  somehow." 

The  disappointment  in  her  voice  was  pathetic.  He 
held  out  his  hand  and  took  hers.  Again  the  light  leaped 
up.  It  was  the  first  time  he  had  voluntarily  touched 
her  since  their  marriage. 

"  I  am  sorry  that  you  don't  sleep,"  he  said.  "  Per- 
haps we  had  better  go  down  to  Annerley  a  little  earlier 
than  we  had  intended.  It  has  been  a  long  season  this 
year  and  you've  been  doing  a  great  deal." 

"  Yes,"  she  murmured,  still  looking  at  him  intently. 
"  I  am  very  tired  of  London.  I  am  tired  of  doing 
things.  I  think  that  I  should  like  it  at  Annerley." 

"Have  you  had  any  dinner?"  he  asked. 

She  shook  her  head. 

"  I  am  going  to  have  some  biscuits  and  milk.  Won't 
you,"  she  added,  timidly,  "  have  a  whisky-and-soda  or 
something?  Will  you  touch  the  bell?  " 

He  obeyed. 

"  I  will  have  a  whisky-and-soda  here,  if  I  may,  in- 
stead of  going  downstairs  again,"  he  decided. 

"  Do  you  know  that  it  is  the  first  time  we  have  ever 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN     337 

sat  in  here  together,  Jermyn  ?  "  she  remarked  presently. 
"  And  I  am  not  looking  a  bit  at  my  best.  If  only  I 
had  known  that  you'd  been  coming !  " 

"  My  dear  Lucille,"  he  said,  smiling,  "  what  outra- 
geous vanity !  You  are  wearing  white,  your  best  color, 
aren't  you,  and  I  am  sure  your  white  silk  stockings  are 
unexceptionable.  Tell  me,  have  you  done  anything 
amusing  while  I  was  away  ?  " 

"  Amusing!  "  she  repeated.  "  I  am  afraid  that  just 
now  I  don't  find  anything  in  life  amusing.  You  see, 
Jermyn,  I  have  made  rather  a  mess  of  things,"  she  went 
on.  "  We  women  are  gamblers,  you  know.  I  wanted  one 
thing  so  much  that  I  staked  everything  in  life  upon  it, 
and  I  lost.  There  doesn't  seem  to  be  anything  much  left." 

Jermyn  looked  away  into  the  fire.  Was  this  a  new 
battle  which  he  was  called  upon  to  fight  —  a  battle,  too, 
of  confused  issues?  Was  he  losing  his  strength? 
There  was  certainly  something  suspiciously  like  a  lump 
in  his  throat. 

"  I  am  sorry  to  find  you  so  depressed,  Lucille,"  he 
said.  "  Perhaps  — " 

"Well?" 

"  If  there  is  anything  I  could  do,"  he  concluded,  a 
little  lamely. 

She  burst  into  a  fit  of  laughter,  laughter  which 
sounded  at  first  genuinely  mirthful  but  which  ended  in 
a  little  choke. 

"  Oh !  Jermyn,  Jermyn,"  she  cried,  wiping  the  tears 
from  her  eyes,  "  bless  you  for  that !  I  think  that  I 
should  have  had  hysterics  in  five  minutes.  That  laugh 
has  saved  my  life !  No,  dear,  there's  nothing  you  could 
do,  of  course.  What  could  you?  It's  nice  of  you  to 
come  and  sit  with  me.  Come  of tener,  won't  you  ?  lam 


338 

still  a  very  old-fashioned  person,  you  know,  who  would 
like  to  see  just  a  little  more  of  her  husband." 

She  gave  him  her  hand.  He  hesitated  for  a  moment 
and  then  raised  it  to  his  lips.  It  was  as  cold  as  ice. 
Her  eyes  had  fallen  before  his  but  he  could  see  that  she 
was  shaking. 

"  I  will  certainly  try  and  see  something  more  of  you," 
he  promised.  "  If  you  are  doing  nothing  to-morrow, 
will  you  lunch  with  me?  " 

"  Of  course,"  she  replied.  "  It  gives  me  just  the 
excuse  I  was  longing  for  to  throw  over  a  terribly  dull 
luncheon  with  the  Chalcotes.  I  can  at  least  offer  them 
something  novel  in  the  way  of  apologies  —  I  am  en- 
gaged to  lunch  with  my  husband!  Excellent  1  Sleep 
well,  Jermyn.  You  must  be  tired  after  your  journey. 
Will  you  send  my  woman  along?  Knock  at  the  door 
on  your  left  as  you  go  by." 

Jermyn  sat  for  some  time  in  his  own  room,  before  the 
open  window.  It  faced  eastward,  and  the  view  of  the 
city  by  night,  with  its  gradually  dying  glamour  of 
sounds,  always  fascinated  him.  It  was  an  hour  or  so 
later  before  he  prepared  for  bed.  He  heard  Lucille's 
maid  depart,  after  wishing  her  mistress  good  night. 
Sometime  afterwards  he  moved  softly  towards  the  con- 
necting door,  drawn  there  by  some  strange,  disturbing 
apprehension  which  he  could  not  altogether  control. 
He  listened  painfully,  his  fingers  digging  into  his  flesh. 
There  was  the  same  sound,  only  this  time  so  low  that  it 
was  hard  to  distinguish  it  even  from  where  he  stood  — 
the  smothered  sound  of  a  woman  crying  softly  to  her- 
self. When  he  stood  up  at  last,  his  own  eyes  were  hot. 
He  walked  back  to  the  window.  The  new  battle  had  in- 
deed begun! 


CHAPTER  XL 

Jermyn  lunched  next  day  with  Lucille  at  the  Ritz. 
She  was  gayer  and  in  better  spirits  than  she  had  been 
for  some  time,  and  she  gave  him  a  delightful  account  in 
her  perfect  French  of  two  plays  which  she  had  seen  in 
Paris  during  the  last  few  days. 

"  Flo  and  I  really  went  over  to  buy  hats,"  she  told 
him,  "  but  they  were  all  hideous.  The  theatres,  though, 
were  wonderful.  Sometimes  I  think  that  you  rather 
neglect  Paris,  Jermyn." 

"  I  am  afraid  I  do,"  he  confessed,  with  real  regret. 
"  It  does  seem  so  hard  to  crowd  everything  into  life." 

"  Fortunately,  life  is  a  sort  of  expanding  quality. 
It  becomes  a  different  thing,  something  more  or  some- 
thing less,  for  every  one  of  us,"  she  remarked.  "  To 
our  neighbor  on  the  right,  for  instance,  it  means  as 
many  lunches  and  dinners  as  he  can  consume  without 
injury  to  his  digestion.  And  to  —  why,  there's 
Gerald ! " 

Jermyn's  face  suddenly  darkened.  Gerald,  looking 
very  smart  and  handsome,  was  showing  Sybil  to  a  little 
table  which  had  been  reserved  for  them.  She  saw 
Jermyn  and  for  a  moment  she  stood  still.  Then  she 
nodded  brightly  and  took  the  seat  with  her  back  to- 
wards them. 

"  Miss  Cluley  looks  as  charming  as  ever,"  Lucille  de- 
clared. "  I  see  in  the  paper  this  morning  that  she  is 


340      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

going  to  the  Artists'  Ball  to-night  in  the  costume  she 
wore  in  her  first  success  —  *  Nilitska,'  the  dancing  girl, 
wasn't  it?  " 

"  I  believe  so,"  Jermyn  answered,  a  little  absently. 

"  An  excellent  thing  for  Gerald,"  Lucille  continued, 
trifling  with  her  salad,  "  to  have  so  charming  a  young 
lady  to  pilot  him  through  the  realms  of  Bohemia. 
None  of  these  young  men,  nowadays,  I  suppose,  are 
content  unless  they  are  seen  somewhere  with  an  actress, 
and  Miss  Cluley  is  so  wonderfully  superior." 

"  Need  we  discuss  her? "  Jermyn  interrupted,  ir- 
ritably. 

"  Why  should  we  ?  "  Lucille  smiled.  "  I  suppose  you 
know  that  Maeterlinck  is  in  London?  I  am  going  to 
meet  him  this  afternoon.  Will  you  come,  or  is  all  your 
time  fully  occupied?  " 

"  I  should  like  to  come  very  much,  if  it  isn't  too  late," 
Jermyn  replied.  "  You  are  going  to  the  professor's,  I 
suppose  ?  " 

She  assented. 

"  I  am  going  very  early,  as  it  happens,"  she  told  him. 
"  Amy  asked  me  to  go  before  the  others,  and  you  know 
you're  always  welcome.  Dear  me,  this  place  is  becom- 
ing like  a  club !  " 

She  leaned  over  to  talk  to  some  passers-by.  Some- 
thing of  the  same  sort  happened  every  few  minutes.  On 
their  way  out,  Lucille  was  swept  away  with  a  crowd  of 
acquaintances.  Jermyn  made  his  way  over  to  the  table 
where  Sybil  and  Gerald  were  sitting. 

"  Shall  I  find  you  at  home  this  afternoon,  Sybil?  " 
he  inquired  simply. 

"  I  am  afraid  not,"  she  answered.  "  I  have  promised 
to  go  for  a  short  motor  ride  with  Lord  Lakenham,  and 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN     341 

then  I  must  have  my  costume  for  the  ball  tried  on.     To- 
morrow, if  I  still  exist,  or  the  next  day." 

Jermyn  was  puzzled.  She  met  his  gaze  quite  frankly 
but  there  was  something  different.  He  exchanged  a  few 
more  ordinary  sentences  and  turned  away. 

"Why  don't  you  come  to  my  supper  party,  sir?" 
Gerald  asked  him.  "  Miss  Cluley  is  going  to  be  our 
bright  particular  star." 

"  I  am  afraid,"  Jermyn  replied,  a  little  hesitatingly, 
"  that  that  sort  of  thing  is  scarcely  in  my  line." 

"  Have  a  try,  for  once,"  Gerald  begged.  "  You'll 
find  it  lots  of  fun.  The  Milan  at  twelve  o'clock. 
They've  got  an  extension." 

"  Thank  you,"  Jermyn  said.  "  May  I  think  it 
over?  " 

"  You  can  think  it  over,  but  I  shall  book  you,"  Gerald 
insisted.  "  It's  going  to  be  one  of  the  sights  of  the 
year." 

Jermyn  rejoined  his  wife,  paid  the  visit  with  her  which 
she  had  suggested,  and  afterwards  wandered  restlessly 
back  to  his  club.  Lucille  was  dining  out  alone  that 
night  —  the  date  of  his  return  from  Scotland  had  been 
uncertain  and  she  had  accepted  no  invitations  for  him 
during  the  week.  He  entered  the  house  just  as  she  was 
leaving.  She  paused,  for  a  moment,  in  the  hall,  a  glit- 
tering vision  of  silver  and  gray. 

"  Paris,"  she  remarked.  "  I  had  to  go  over  to  have 
it  tried  on.  Such  a  nuisance  —  I'm  inches  thinner. 
What  do  you  think  of  it?  " 

"  Wonderful,"  Jermyn  answered,  truthfully  enough. 
"  It  isn't  a  dress  at  all  —  it's  an  inspiration." 

"  How  Monsieur  Charles  would  love  you !  "  she  sighed. 
"  It  is  almost  his  own  remark.  Personally,  it  makes  me 


342      THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

feel  like  a  mermaid.  I  have  to  feel  the  weight  of  my 
tiara  to  be  quite  sure  that  I  am  properly  dressed." 

She  drew  her  cloak  around  her  and  passed  out  with  a 
little  nod.  Jermyn's  servant  followed  him  upstairs. 

"  You  will  change  now,  sir,"  he  asked,  "  or  will  you 
dine  first?  " 

"  I  will  change  now,"  Jermyn  decided.  "  A  smoking 
jacket  will  do.  I  shall  s.pend  the  evening  at  home." 

He  dined  in  the  library,  trifled  with  some  new  books, 
glanced  through  the  reviews  and  the  evening  paper, 
wrote  a  couple  of  letters.  Every  now  and  then  he  found 
himself  looking  at  the  clock.  He  was  conscious  of  an 
acute  feeling  of  restlessness.  There  was  something  in 
his  blood  which  he  could  not  analyze;  a  vague  unfa- 
miliar sensation  which  he  failed  altogether  to  trace  to 
its  foundation.  He  thought  continually  of  Sybil. 
There  was  something  new  between  them,  some  quality 
in  her  tone  when  she  spoke  to  him,  something,  even,  in 
the  frank  way  she  laughed  up  into  his  face,  which 
baffled  him.  He  thought  of  their  last  parting,  of  the 
letters  which  he  had  written  her.  There  was  nothing 
which  could  possibly  be  misunderstood,  yet  something 
had  happened.  And  all  the  time  there  was  a  back- 
ground to  his  thoughts.  There  was  Lucille !  The 
book  which  he  had  been  reading  slipped  from  his  fingers 
as  he  lounged  in  the  chair,  with  his  eyes  fixed  upon 
the  smoldering  fire.  He  went  over  his  conversation 
with  Sir  James.  One  by  one  those  sentences  came  back 
to  his  mind,  so  ponderously  delivered,  so  weighty,  so 
charged  with  an  insistent,  minatory  meaning.  Lucille's 
face  as  he  had  seen  her  asleep,  the  previous  evening, 
haunted  him.  Somewhere  in  one  of  the  smaller  galler- 
ies of  Florence  he  had  seen  a  picture  of  an  Italian 


woman,  a  victim  of  the  Inquisition,  lying  in  her  cell, 
fresh  from  the  torture  chamber,  dreaming  of  the  last 
night  of  terror.  The  memory  came  back  to  him. 
There  was  the  same  expression  as  he  had  seen  in  the 
curve  of  Lucille's  lips  —  a  woman  in  Hell !  He  moved 
restlessly  in  his  place  and,  .springing  up,  began  to 
walk  up  and  down  the  room.  It  was  absurd,  he  told 
himself.  His  relations  with  these  two  women  had  been 
carefully  thought  out,  with  due  regard  to  all  the  cir- 
cumstances, with  due  regard  to  everything  he  owed 
them.  Lucille  was  paying  the  price  of  her  own  wicked- 
ness and  deceit.  .  .  .  Nevertheless,  the  restlessness 
grew.  He  kept  glancing  at  the  clock.  At  half-past 
eleven  he  could  bear  it  no  longer.  He  rang  the  bell. 

"  Parkes,"  he  ordered,  "  put  out  my  dress  clothes  at 
once.  I  am  going  to  a  dance." 

He  followed  the  man  upstairs,  presently.  Just  be- 
fore midnight  he  was  in  the  entrance  hall  of  the  Milan. 
He  arrived  there  just  as  Gerald  Lakenham  drove  up 
with  Sybil  by  his  side.  Again  Jermyn  felt  a  queer 
little  pang  as  he  advanced  to  meet  them. 

"  So  you  have  really  come !  "  she  explained.  "  You 
astonish  me ! " 

"  Why  not  ?  "  he  answered.  "  You  are  here.  To 
me,  you  know,  that  was  almost  as  astonishing." 

"Ah,  no!"  she  objected.  "Every  one  tells  me 
that  I  ought  to  have  been  doing  this  sort  of  thing 
for  a  long  time.  It  is  my  metier  to  be  frivolous.  It 
is  scarcely  yours,  is  it?  " 

Gerald  was  busy  collecting  his  party  and  for  these 
few  minutes  they  were  alone. 

"  Something  has  happened,  Sybil,"  Jermyn  said 
quietly. 


344      THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

She  shrugged  her  shoulders.  Her  feet  were  keep- 
ing time  to  the  music.  She  was  wearing  a  wonder- 
ful gown,  unlike  anything  he  had  ever  seen  on  her  be- 
fore, and  her  maid  was  following  behind  with  a  little 
bag  containing  her  domino  and  mask. 

"  Nothing  has  happened,  dear  Jermyn,"  she  assured 
him,  "  only  I  think  that  I  am  growing  to  feel  younger. 
I  am  afraid  of  gray  hairs,  sitting  by  myself  and  mop- 
ing all  day  long.  Don't  you  think  I  am  wise?  " 

"  But  isn't  it  a  little  —  sudden  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Ah !  these  changes  are  always  sudden,"  she  re- 
plied. 

"  It  is  a  change,  then?  "  he  said  swiftly.  "  Sybil, 
is  anything  changed  between  you  and  me?  " 

For  a  moment  she  was  her  old  self. 

"  Not  while  the  world  lasts,  dear  one,"  she  mur- 
mured. "  And  yet  —  and  yet  — " 

"  If  you  will  only  finish  your  sentence,"  he  begged, 
"  I  feel  that  I  shall  have  the  answer  to  a  little  riddle 
which  is  puzzling  me  sorely." 

"  My  sentence,"  she  whispered,  "  is  better  unfinished. 
Now  here  comes  everybody  and  I  know  you're  going  to 
hate  it  all." 

Sybil's  words  were  prophetic.  Supper  was  served 
at  a  great  round  table  in  the  middle  of  the  restaurant. 
Jermyn  was  placed  at  some  distance  from  Sybil,  be- 
tween Mrs.  Levenden  and  an  exceedingly  lively  young 
woman  of  American  extraction,  who  was  appearing  in 
a  popular  musical  comedy,  and  to  whom  he  was  ap- 
parently expected  to  devote  himself.  Jermyn  had 
never  heard  the  name  of  the  show  in  which  she  was 
performing,  and  she  had  never  heard  of  Jermyn. 
After  the  first  few  sentences,  conversation  fell  flat. 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      345 

It  was,  indeed,  a  rather  difficult  situation  for  him. 
Everybody  called  everybody  else  by  their  Christian 
names,  and  a  peculiar  sort  of  freemasonry  seemed  to 
exist  between  them  all  and  to  form  the  foundation  for 
the  conversation.  Jermyn  did  his  best  at  first  to  talk 
to  his  neighbors,  but  he  found  the  task  almost  hope- 
less. They  belonged  to  a  different  world  and  they 
spoke  a  different  tongue.  Even  their  manners  were 
strange  to  him.  As  time  went  on,  every  one  became 
riotously  gay.  Sybil,  between  Gerald  and  one  of  his 
particular  cronies,  was  altogether  the  centre  of  attrac- 
tion. Her  laugh  was  continually  heard.  She  talked 
with  every  one,  she  even  whispered  sometimes  to  Gerald. 
Gradually  Jermyn  began  to  feel  as  though  he  were  a 
skeleton  at  the  feast.  Mrs.  Levenden,  who  outside 
her  intimate  knowledge  of  the  stage  was  rather  a 
stupid  woman,  had  given  up  trying  to  make  conversa- 
tion with  him.  The  American  beauty  at  his  right  was 
engaged  now  in  a  desperate  flirtation  with  a  young 
compatriot  a  few  places  away.  Magnum  after  magnum 
of  champagne  had  been  opened;  the  table  was  hung 
with  tobacco  smoke.  Several  of  the  men,  and  even  one 
or  two  of  the  girls,  were  making  quite  as  much  noise 
as  was  seemly.  A  ma/itre  d'hotel  had  brought  in  a 
huge  box  of  crackers,  and  Sybil,  amidst  applause, 
had  placed  upon  her  head  a  little  vivandiere's  cap. 
Some  one  drank  her  health.  She  stood  up  and  kissed 
her  hands  across  the  table  to  him.  Suddenly,  almost 
for  the  first  time,  she  caught  Jermyn's  eye.  For  a 
single  moment  it  seemed  to  him  as  though  a  mask  had 
fallen  from  her  face,  as  though  her  little  glance  was 
an  imploring  one,  as  though  she  were  calling  to  him 
to  take  her  away,  that  it  was  all  a  bad  dream,  that 


346      THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN 

some  evil  spirit  had  taken  possession  of  her.  Her  mes- 
sage came  to  him  with  such  convincing  earnestness  that 
he  rose  to  his  feet  before  he  could  realize  what  he  was 
doing.  Then,  as  swiftly  as  it  had  come,  the  look  passed 
away.  She  was  once  more  the  gayest  of  those  present, 
laughing  with  everybody,  the  presiding  deity  of  the 
feast.  When  at  last  they  rose,  Jermyn  with  difficulty 
made  his  way  to  her  side.  Her  face  was  a  little  flushed ; 
she  looked  up  at  him,  as  he  came,  with  a  quiver  al- 
most of  apprehension. 

"  Sybil,"  he  pleaded,  "  don't  go  to  this  dance.  Let 
me  drive  you  home." 

Again  she  seemed  to  hesitate;  the  mask  slipped. 
Then  Gerald  came  up  and  swept  her  away. 

"  You're  in  box  number  five,  sir,"  he  told  Jermyn, 
"  with  Miss  Cluley  and  me,  but  she's  engaged  to  me 
for  the  ride  down.  We  are  going  to  try  my  new 
coupe.  There  are  plenty  of  cars  outside,  if  you 
haven't  your  own.  We  shall  all  meet  in  the  vesti- 
bule." 

Jermyn  stood  quite  still  and  watched  them  pass  him. 
He  saw  Gerald  hand  Sybil  into  the  little  coupe,  which 
headed  the  procession  of  cars.  She  never  looked  back. 
As  the  coupe  swept  round  the  courtyard,  however,  on 
its  way  out,  he  fancied  that  he  caught  a  gleam  of  a 
white  face  peering  anxiously  in  his  direction.  He 
took  a  quick  step  forward.  When  it  passed  him  again, 
however,  his  heart  sank.  It  was  surely  a  mask ! 
Sybil  was  leaning  back  among  the  cushions,  laughing 
heartily. 

One  or  two  of  the  others  spoke  to  him,  pointing  out 
the  cars  which  Gerald  had  engaged.  Mrs.  Levenden, 
indeed,  seemed  almost  to  expect  his  escort.  Jermyn, 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN     347 

however,  with  a  murmured  word  of  excuse,  managed  to 
escape.  He  made  his  way  out  into  the  Strand  and 
turned  westwards. 

Jermyn  paused  for  a  few  moments  on  the  steps  of 
his  club,  but  finally  made  his  way  directly  home- 
ward. It  was  solitude  which  he  needed,  solitude  free 
from  even  the  chance  of  unwelcome  interruptions.  He 
let  himself  in  with  a  latchkey  and  met  Roberts  in  the 
hall,  carrying  a  small  silver  tray.  The  man  came  for- 
ward to  assist  him. 

"  Her  ladyship,  sir,"  Roberts  announced,  "  is  not 
feeling  very  well.  I  was  taking  her  up  some  brandy." 

Jermyn  raised  her  eyebrows. 

"  Where  is  her  maid?  " 

"  Her  ladyship  found  that  Annette  was  suffering 
from  neuralgia  and  sent  her  to  bed  early,"  the  man  ex- 
plained. "  I  was  just  wondering,  sir,  whether  it  would 
be  as  well  to  have  one  of  the  other  young  women 
wakened." 

"  Where  is  her  ladyship  ?  "  Jermyn  asked. 

"  In  her  boudoir,  sir,"  Roberts  told  him.  "  She  only 
returned  a  few  minutes  ago." 

"  I  will  see  whether  any  assistance  is  necessary," 
Jermyn  said.  "  You  can  give  me  the  tray." 

Very  slowly  he  mounted  the  stairs  and  knocked  at 
the  door  of  her  sitting-room.  Lucille  was  lying  upon 
the  couch,  still  fully  dressed.  She  opened  her  eyes 
and  turned  her  head  a  little  wearily,  but  sprang  up 
when  she  saw  who  it  was. 

"  Jermyn !  "   she  explained. 

He  set  the  tray  down  upon  the  table. 

'*  I  saw  Roberts  in  the  hall  as  I  came  in,"  he  re- 
marked, a  little  stiffly.  "  He  told  me  that  you  were 


348      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

not  feeling  well  and  that  you  had  sent  your  maid  to 
bed." 

The  color  was  gradually  returning  to  her  cheeks. 
She  raised  herself  slightly  upon  the  couch. 

"  It  is  very  kind  of  you  to  come  and  inquire,"  she 
said.  "May  I  have  just  a  sip  of  that  brandy?  I 
am  really  quite  all  right  now,  though." 

He  handed  her  the  tumbler. 

"  I  felt  just  a  little  faint  when  I  came  in,"  she  ex- 
plained. "  We  played  too  much  bridge  after  dinner, 
and  the  rooms  were  so  close.  Then  I  remembered  that 
I  had  sent  Annette  to  bed  and  it  annoyed  me.  I  am 
really  quite  all.  right  now." 

He  stood  by  her  side,  looking  down  at  her.  She  was 
still  wearing  her  wonderful  gown  but  she  had  removed 
her  jewels,  which  were  lying  upon  the  table. 

"  Are  you  sure  that  you  wouldn't  care  to  have  one 
of  the  parlor-maids  sent  for  ?  "  he  asked.  "  Or  I  dare- 
say that  Annette  is  well  enough  to  get  up  and  help  you 
now." 

She  shook  her  head. 

"  It  really  isn't  necessary.  I  shall  be  able  to  manage 
for  myself  quite  well.  Sit  down  for  a  moment,  won't 
you?" 

She  stretched  out  her  hand  and  drew  a  low  chair 
close  to  the  side  of  the  sofa.  Then  she  glanced  up  at 
him  and  their  eyes  met. 

"  Please  sit  down,"  she  begged. 

He  obeyed  at  once.     She  took  his  hand  between  hers. 

"  I  am  cold,"  she  murmured.  "  I  wonder  why  I 
am  so  cold." 

"  Finish  the  brandy,"  he  advised. 

She  shrugged  her  shoulders  and  drank  it. 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      349 

"  I  want  to  talk,"  she  said.  "  I  think  that  that  will 
do  me  good.  Tell  me  where  you  have  been  ?  " 

"  To  a  supper  party  at  the  Milan." 

"  Amusing?  " 

"  I  am  afraid  I  didn't  find  it  so,"  he  replied. 

A  queer  little  flicker  of  sympathy  parted  her  lips. 
In  a  sense  she  realized  that  she  was  responsible  for 
his  depression.  Then  her  thoughts  wandered  away 
again. 

"  Did  you  ever  feel  tired,  too,  Jermyn  —  so  tired 
that  every  bone  in  your  body  ached,  and  your  heart 
ached,  and  your  eyes  were  hot,  so  hot  and  tired  that 
sleep  seemed  an  impossibility,  so  tired  that  you  hadn't 
even  the  courage  — " 

She  broke  off  abruptly  in  the  middle  of  her  sen- 
tence. 

"  Ah !  but  of  course  you  don't  feel  like  that,"  she 
continued,  "  and  I  don't  want  you  to.  It's  stupid  of 
me,  isn't  it,  to  be  so  dull  just  when  you  happen  to 
have  come  in  to  see  me.  But  I  am  tired  to-night  — 
I  am  so  tired." 

There  was  something  intensely  pitiful  in  her  slowly 
uttered  words,  in  the  longing  which  she  could  not  keep 
out  of  her  face.  Jermyn  felt  once  more  that  little 
lump  in  his  throat.  Once  more  the  hateful  conscious- 
ness of  his  callous  brutality  seemed  to  seize  hold  of  him, 
to  stir  in  his  consciousness  and  in  his  heart  a  multi- 
tude of  surging  emotions.  He  bent  over  her. 

"  Won't  you  let  me  — " 

He  stopped  short. 

"  Won't  I  let  you  what  ?  "  she  asked,  a  little  breath- 
lessly. 

"  Would  you  like  me  to  carry  you  into  your  room  ?  " 


350      THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN 

She  held  out  her  arms.  Her  smile  was  one  of  abso- 
lute self -yielding  yet  it  had  in  it  something  of  her  old 
brilliancy.  He  lifted  her  up,  amazed  to  find  how  light 
she  was.  Then  he  opened  the  door  and  passed  into 
the  inner  chamber  for  the  first  time  since  their  mar- 
riage." 

"  Put  me  down  upon  the  bed,  please,"  she  begged. 
"  I  am  going  to  rest  there  for  a  few  minutes  before  I 
undress." 

He  obeyed  her  but  her  arms  still  held  him,  although 
her  eyes  were  closed.  Suddenly  she  opened  them. 
Her  fingers  gripped  his,  holding  him  with  amazing 
force.  There  was  a  light  in  her  face  unlike  anything 
he  had  ever  seen  in  his  life. 

"  Jermyn !  "   she  pleaded.     "  Jermyn !  " 

Her  long  arms  were  wound  around  him  now  with  al- 
most frantic  force. 

"  One  word,"  she  faltered, —  "  one  touch  !  " 

The  wave  of  pity  reached  his  heart.  He  stooped 
and  kissed  her  on  the  lips. 


CHAPTER  XLI 

"  For  a  two-year-older,  you  are  much  too  exhausting 
for  a  hot  morning,"  Jermyn  declared,  setting  down 
his  boy  upon  the  stone  balcony.  "  There,  run  along 
to  nurse." 

The  child  showed  signs  of  objecting  but  his  nurse 
quickly  caught  him  up  and  disappeared.  Jermyn  re- 
mained, for  a  moment,  looking  out  over  the  gardens, 
radiant  now  with  all  the  perfumed  perfection  of  spring 
flowers  and  foliage.  There  were  beds  of  wonderful 
pink  and  white  hyacinths,  long  borders  of  yellow 
crocuses,  with  patches  of  anemones  and  banks  of  daf- 
fodils. In  a  corner  where  the  sunshine  lingered  long- 
est, the  early  roses  were  breaking  into  blossom,  and  in 
the  distance  was  a  delicate  cloud  of  pink  and  white 
blossom  from  the  walled  fruit  garden.  The  master  of 
Annerley  drew  a  little  sigh  of  content  before  he  passed 
through  the  open  windows  into  the  small  morning  room, 
where  breakfast  was  arranged  at  a  round  table  drawn 
up  close  to  the  balcony. 

"  Her  ladyship  is  not  down  yet?  "  he  asked  Roberts, 
who  was  standing  at  the  sideboard. 

"  Not  yet,  sir,"  the  man  replied.  "  The  gong  has 
gone  twice." 

Jermyn  shook  out  the  letters  from  his  post  bag  and 
ran  them  through  at  first  carelessly  enough.  Then  he 
stopped  short.  Even  after  three  years,  the  sight  of 


352      THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

Sybil's  handwriting  was  not  without  its  effect  upon  him. 
He  glanced  at  the  foreign  postmark,  with  the  name  of 
the  hotel  on  the  outside  of  the  envelope.  Then  he 
opened  it  almost  eagerly  and  settled  down  to  read  it. 
It  was  dated  from  a  town  in  the  far  west  of  America: 

**  My  dear  Jermyn, 

"  Your  cables  and  letters  of  congratulation  to  Mary 
and  Gerald  have  been  more  welcome  than  I  can  ever  make 
you  understand.  They  have  made  all  the  difference  so 
far  as  I  am  concerned,  and  have  taken  quite  a  load  off 
my  mind.  Knowing  them  both  as  well  as  I  do,  Jermyn, 
you  can  imagine  what  joy  it  gives  me  to  realize  absolutely 
their  love  for  one  another. 

"  We  seem,  somehow,  at  the  other  end  of  the  world,  but 
I  cannot  tell  you  how  happy  we  all  are.  Gerald  espe- 
cially is  delightful.  He  and  Mary  insist  upon  taking  my 
whole  tour  with  me.  We  have  a  private  car  and  go  from 
place  to  place,  and  really  I  think  we  all  behave  like  a 
party  of  children.  Gerald  and  Mary  go  sight-seeing  at 
every  opportunity  and  always  come  back  with  a  wonderful 
account  of  their  wanderings.  I  have,  unfortunately,  to 
spend  a  great  deal  of  time  in  the  theatre,  as  the  audiences 
out  here  like  plenty  of  variety,  and  we  have  to  change  our 
programme  continually.  I  daresay  you  sometimes  see  the 
papers  and  you  know  that  America  has  been  much  too 
kind  to  me.  I  have  had  heaps  of  offers  to  stay  on  here 
—  well,  nearly  for  the  rest  of  my  natural  life;  or  my 
working  life,  at  any  rate.  But  we  are  all  coming  back 
directly  this  tour  is  finished. 

"  I  am  going  to  write  you  a  longer  letter  in  a  few  days. 
I  want  to  write  you  more  fully  about  Mary  and  Gerald. 
I  do  not  think  that  you  will  blame  me  —  I  don't  really 
see  how  anybody  could.  They  are  simply  devoted  to  one 
another,  and  it  is  the  greatest  happiness  imaginable  to  see 


THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      353 

them  together.  You  know  what  Mary  has  meant  to  me 
all  my  life,  and  you  can  imagine  what  it  means  now  to 
think  that  my  care  of  her  is  so  delightfully  rewarded.  I 
am  sure  that  Gerald's  people,  however  they  may  feel  just 
at  first,  cannot  help  loving  her,  in  time. 

"  I  am  writing  you  in  great  haste  for  this  mail,  Jenny n, 
because  half  an  hour  ago  I  received  a  letter  from  your 
wife  which  puzzled  me  and  has  made  me  just  a  little  un- 
easy. To  explain  it  I  must  tell  you  something.  Three 
years  ago,  in  London,  she  paid  me  a  visit  which  I  dare- 
say she  has  never  told  you  about;  there  was,  indeed,  no 
necessity.  You  know  how  things  were  between  us  then; 
you  know  how  things  were  between  you  and  your  wife. 
The  situation  seemed,  perhaps,  to  us,  the  only  possible  one. 
In  effect,  I  suppose,  it  was  terribly  unnatural  and,  so  far 
as  your  wife  was  concerned,  notwithstanding  everything, 
terribly  cruel.  Because,  you  see,  she  really  did  care,  in  a 
different  way  from  anything  I  ever  imagined  —  in  the  most 
wonderful  way.  She  really  came  to  me  that  day,  to  put 
it  very  simply,  to  beg  me  to  give  you  up.  That  was  the 
great  text  of  her  coming,  and  some  of  the  things  which 
seemed  to  me  of  less  account,  slipped  away  from  my  mind 
until  her  letter  recalled  them.  She  asked  me,  Jermyn,  to 
give  you  up  for  three  years  —  to  give  her  three  years  of 
happiness.  After  then,  well,  she  just  shrugged  her 
shoulders,  and,  somehow  or  other,  that  part  of  what  she 
said  never  seemed  to  me  to  have  any  great  significance. 
But  this  morning,  as  I  have  told  you,  I  had  a  letter  from 
her.  It  was  a  very  charming  letter  and  she  said  many 
nice  things,  and  I  know  from  it  that  my  sacrifice  —  you 
see,  I  am  not  hypocrite  enough  to  pretend  that  it  was  not 
a  sacrifice  —  has  not  been  in  vain,  and  that  she  has  been 
happy.  But  the  conclusion  of  her  letter  puzzled  me.  She 
spoke  as  though  some  definite  epoch  were  over,  as  though 
there  were  some  sort  of  bargain  which  she  was  preparing 


354      THE    WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN 

to  keep.  While  I  was  trying  to  think  what  she  could 
mean,  the  memory  of  our  interview  all  came  back  and  I 
understood.  I  think,  Jermyn,  it  was  on  the  third  day  of 
May  that  she  came  to  me.  The  three  years  would  be  just 
about  up  when  you  receive  this  letter.  I  will  not  tell  you 
quite  the  thoughts  which  have  come  into  my  mind.  They 
seem  too  absurd  to  set  down  with  pen  and  ink.  But  will 
you  watch  over  her  very  carefully  for  a  little  time?  I 
have  written  her,  also,  and  I  expect  and  hope  that  what 
I  have  said  will  be  enough. 

"  Mary  sends  her  love  and  Gerald  his  remembrances. 
They  are  off  for  a  three  days'  motor  tour  through  some 
magnificent  scenery.  Will  you  write  to  me  through  the 
bank  in  New  York?  You  know  how  glad  I  shall  be  to 
hear.  "  Ever  yours, 

"  SYBIL." 

Jermyn  rose  slowly  to  his  feet.  He  glanced  at  the 
calendar  which  hung  on  the  wall.  It  was  the  morn- 
ing of  May  3rd!  He  looked  at  the  empty  seat  at 
his  table,  empty  for  the  first  time  since  they  had  been 
at  Annerley,  and  a  sudden  paralyzing  fear  kept  him, 
for  a  moment,  motionless.  Lucille  was  not  like  other 
women.  She  had  strange  ideas.  And  her  word  —  her 
word  was  more,  even,  than  a  bond.  In  those  few  sec- 
onds during  which  he  stood  there,  gazing  through  her 
empty  place  with  transfixed  eyes,  he  remembered  a  mo- 
ment in  the  gardens  on  the  previous  night,  a  moment 
when  her  arms  had  stolen  around  his  neck  with  a  touch 
of  that  old  feverish,  terrified  craving,  and  a  shadow 
of  hopelessness  had  gleamed  once  more  in  her  strangely- 
lit  eyes. 

"  Ah !  Jermyn,"  she  had  whispered,  "  they  have  been 
wonderful,  these  three  years!" 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE   WOMEN     355 

Three  years!  The  three  years  were  up  that  day! 
Lucille  had  mentioned  the  exact  time.  Jermyn  left 
his  letter  lying  upon  his  plate,  opened  the  door  and 
ran  upstairs  swiftly.  On  the  landing  he  met  Annette. 

"  Where  is  your  mistress  ?  "  he  asked  quickly. 

Annette  answered  in  an  undertone. 

"  Her  ladyship  had  no  sleep  last  night.  She  is  just 
taking  a  sleeping  draught  and  is  going  to  lie  down  for 
a  few  hours.  She  wished  particularly  not  to  be  dis- 
turbed." 

Jermyn  almost  pushed  her  on  one  side.  He  hurried 
along  the  corridor  and  reached  the  door  of  his  wife's 
room.  He  turned  the  handle  —  it  was  locked.  In  a 
moment  he  had  passed  on  into  his  own  sleeping  apart- 
ment, rushed  through  it  and  tried  the  handle  of  the 
connecting  door.  That,  too,  was  locked. 

"Lucille!"  he  called  out. 

There  was  no  answer.  He  took  the  handle  in  his 
hand  and  shook  it. 

"  Lucille !  "  he  repeated.  "  I  must  speak  to  you  at 
once ! " 

Still  there  was  no  immediate  answer  and  the  sick  fear 
was  in  his  heart.  He  stepped  back,  his  right  shoulder 
squared  for  a  charge.  Then  he  heard  his  wife's  voice. 
There  seemed  something  unnatural  about  it,  it  seemed 
to  come  from  a  long  way  off,  but  it  was  her  voice. 

"What  is  it,  Jermyn?" 

"  I  must  speak  to  you  this  instant,"  he  declared 
hoarsely.  "  I  must  speak  to  you  without  a  second's 
delay.  Do  you  hear?  Open  the  door,  Lucille." 

For  a  moment  she  did  not  reply.  Then  he  heard 
the  rustling  of  draperies  within  the  room.  She  was 
coming  towards  him.  The  lock  turned.  He  flung  the 


356      THE    WAY    OF    THESE    WOMEN 

door  open.  She  stood  upon  the  threshold,  gazing  out 
upon  him  like  a  ghost.  He  sprang  past  her  to  the  mid- 
dle of  the  room.  Then  he  gave  a  great  sob  of  re- 
lief. On  her  table  was  a  letter,  written  and  addressed 
to  him ;  by  the  side  of  it,  a  wineglass  —  full.  He 
caught  it  up  in  his  hand  and  dashed  it  upon  the  car- 
pet. Then  a  sudden  fit  of  weakness  came  to  him. 
He  sank  into  the  chair  where  she  had  been  writing. 

"  Jermyn ! "  she  cried  softly.  "  How  did  you 
know?  " 

He  sat  looking  at  the  little  stream  of  dark  brown 
liquid  and  the  fragments  of  the  glass  upon  the  carpet. 
The  sight  seemed  to  give  him  confidence.  He  rose  and 
held  out  his  arms.  She  came  to  him  readily  enough 
but  her  face  was  still  very  white  and  strained. 

"  Dear,"  she  faltered,  "  it  is  my  word  —  my  word 
of  honor." 

He  held  her  tightly  and  led  her  toward  the  window. 
Below,  the  nurse  and  child  were  playing.  She  turned 
away  with  a  little  shiver. 

"  Yes,  I  know,  I  know ! "  she  sobbed.  "  But  these 
three  years,  Jermyn !  One  could  go  down  into  Hell 
with  the  memory  of  these  three  years  singing  in  one's 
heart." 

He  kept  his  arms  about  her  tightly.  With  an  ef- 
fort he  made  his  tone  as  matter-of-fact  as  possible. 

"  I  think,"  he  said,  "  that  the  best  thing  you  can 
do  is  to  read  a  letter  I  have  received  this  morning,  and 
afterwards  to  read  another  one  which  you  will  probably 
find  for  yourself  in  the  post  bag." 

"From  — her?" 

He  nodded. 

"  Will  you  wait  here  while  I  fetch  them?  "  he  asked. 


THE   WAY    OF   THESE    WOMEN      357 

"  Yes !  "   she  promised. 

He  hesitated.     She  smiled  at  him  very  pathetically. 

"  Jermyn  dear,  you  can't  think  that  I  wanted  to  do 
it?  I  shall  be  very  safe  until  you  come  back." 

He  went  downstairs  like  a  man  in  a  dream  and  re- 
turned with  the  letters.  He  spread  his  own  out  upon 
the  table  before  her,  and,  cutting  the  envelope  of  the 
one  addressed  to  her,  drew  out  the  single  sheet  of 
closely  written  notepaper  and  placed  it  in  her  hands. 
She  read  them  both,  word  by  word.  When  she  had 
finished,  she  was  crying  softly.  They  sat  together  at 
the  open  window.  The  west  wind  came  to  them  from 
over  the  gardens.  Every  now  and  then  there  were 
peals  of  childish  laughter. 

"But,  Jermyn,"  she  whispered,  "what  about  her?'* 

His  fingers  tightened  upon  her  hand.  He,  too,  was 
looking  through  the  window,  across  the  gardens,  across 
the  park,  to  the  sky. 

"  There  are  two  sorts  of  happiness,  dear,"  he  said. 


THE   END 


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